Understanding Foreign Trade Zones

This article reviews the emerging use of foreign trade zones in the United States and presents a competitive analysis framework to segment markets, determine levels of marketing effort, and develop differential marketing strategies for zone services. Using a two‐dimensional model of potential use and competitive position, the proposed framework permits foreign trade zone services and market segments to be analysed in a single model where differential marketing strategies can be readily identified. The case of a recently formed trade zone is used to illustrate the application of the proposed framework.