Under the proposal of Economic Development Director Tami Asenbach, a “foreign trade zone” could be established in Mojave County this year.

Foreign Trade Zones were established by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection as an effort to help businesses gain better trading opportunities in global markets.

These are defined as safe areas for the free movement of goods from customs duties and other VAT. For Mojave County, there could be incentives for up to five companies that have expressed interest in moving in.

Ursenbach on Tuesday was not allowed to say specifically which companies could open in Mojave County if the FTZ were formed.

“[Companies]cannot make a decision until they are close to establishing an FTZ,” Ursenbach said this week. “Companies are in the manufacturing and transportation industries. The impact will be gradual in the first few years, but the more companies that use FTZ, the greater the impact.”

Within a year of creating such a zone, Ursenbach says he hopes to see an economic impact of more than $1 million for the county. However, more accurate projections may depend on future consultants hired by the county when the FTZ was created.

Over 3,000 businesses have benefited from FTZs, which offer reduced quota-based tariffs, deferred or reduced import and export duties.

At least eight existing and announced companies plan to import and export products in the Mojave County area, Ursenbach said, with five such companies showing interest in opening local operations.

Ursenbach said county officials are working with the Arizona Department of Commerce to explore the possibility of creating an FTZ in Mohave County, which would require an independent company to oversee the creation of the zone.

Ursenbach’s proposal calls for allocating $70,000 from the county’s Economic Development Enterprise Fund to pay for the services of such enterprises.

The Mojave County Board of Supervisors is expected to hear and possibly vote on Ulsenbach’s proposal at the board’s next meeting in Kingman on Tuesday.