Hoku Materials Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Hoku Scientific Inc., has been granted foreign-trade zone (FTZ) subzone status by the U.S. Department of Commerce for its polysilicon manufacturing plant currently under development in Pocatello, Idaho.
FTZ procedures would exempt the company from customs duty payments on foreign materials used in export production. Specifically, the ruling will allow Hoku to import foreign-sourced raw materials in a duty-free status, provided they are destined for export overseas as components of finished polysilicon.
Under its existing customer supply agreements, more than 80% of Hoku's total annual production capacity of polysilicon, and 100% of what has been presold to date, is destined for export to China, meaning that an equivalent percentage of the company's raw material inputs would be eligible for import in a duty-free status.
SOURCE: Hoku Materials Inc.
