February 16, 2012

FTZ Board Update - ADDITIONAL Training Videos for Annual Report System

PLEASE SHARE THIS UPDATE WITH YOUR FTZ OPERATORS, USERS AND OTHERS WHO MAY BE INTERESTED IN THE FTZ PROGRAM.

In a recent FTZ Board Update, we announced that certain training videos were available on the use of the Online FTZ Information System (OFIS) to submit annual reports. We now have additional training videos available for the remaining key sections. The videos are accessible through the “What’s New” box on our main webpage – www.trade.gov/ftz.

The new videos now available are:

• Grantees - How to Finalize and Submit Your Annual Report to the FTZ Board (6:12 minutes)
• Grantees - How to Finalize and Submit Your Annual Report to the FTZ Board (No zone activity) (2:56 minutes)
• Manufacturing operators - How to Create and Submit Your Annual Report to the Grantee (9:43 minutes)

The existing training videos are also still available:

• Grantees - How to Log In to OFIS and Change Your Password (2:04 minutes)
• Grantees - How to Request an OFIS Account for an Operator (3:20 minutes)
• Grantees - How to Update Your Contact Information and Site Status Information (2:33 minutes)
• Grantees - How to Review and Finalize an Operator's Report in OFIS (4:08 minutes)

• Operators - How to Log In to OFIS and Update Your Information (3:07 minutes)
• Warehouse/Distribution Operators - How to Create and Submit Your Annual Report to the Grantee (7:37 minutes)
• Oil Refinery Operators - How to Create and Submit Your Annual Report to the Grantee (9:31 minutes)

As a reminder, all 2011 annual reports will be submitted through OFIS and the reporting period for the annual report is now the calendar year (January 1 – December 31). Each grantee’s report to the FTZ Board will be due on March 31, with each grantee free to develop its own internal deadline for its operators to submit their reports to the grantee.

In early October, account log-in information for OFIS was e-mailed to each grantee. If you are a grantee that has not received OFIS log-in information, or you have any problems accessing the system, please contact Liz Whiteman (202-482-0473, Elizabeth.Whiteman@trade.gov) or Marsha Foust (202-482-5832, Marsha.Foust@trade.gov).

Each grantee will need to log in to OFIS to request that accounts be created for each of the grantee’s operators. With their own accounts, operators will be able to submit their reports to the grantee through OFIS. The grantee will be able to review its operators’ data in OFIS before approving submission of the zone’s report to the FTZ Board.

For any questions you may have, do not hesitate to contact Liz or Marsha via their contact information above.

Andrew McGilvray
Executive Secretary and Staff Director
U.S. Foreign-Trade Zones Board
(202) 482-2862
www.trade.gov/ftz