Free-trade zones in the U.S. provide Canadian companies with options for tariff relief –The Globe and Mail Free-trade zones in the U.S. provide Canadian companies with options for tariff relief –The Globe and Mail

To manage costs related to American-imposed tariffs, some Canadian companies have turned to federally designated regions in the United States where they can lease land or buildings to manufacture or store goods. In an interview with The Globe and Mail, Jesse Goldman, a partner in the Competition, Trade and Foreign Investment Group, says that, while foreign-trade zones can be helpful for a limited number of companies, he has found a noticeable increase in the use of bonded warehouses in the U.S.

“It’s very difficult to get any bonded space in the U.S. and the prices have gone up astronomically as a result of the supply crunch for bonded space,” says Jesse. These warehouses help companies defer tariff payments and are cheaper and easier to establish, but do not offer companies the same opportunities for manufacturing.

Federally designated zones have long been part of America’s trade and manufacturing sector but have gained greater attention as businesses in Canada and abroad look for new ways to counter tariffs. They are not unique to the U.S. and are most often called free-trade zones elsewhere.

The act that implemented U.S. trade zones (Foreign Trade Zones Act) is nearly a century old, having been brought into law in 1934.

If you subscribe to The Globe and Mail, you can read the full article by Dayne Patterson posted on November 10, 2025.