Indiana Foreign Trade Zone Tariffs Relief Drives a 53% Membership Surge

Operator membership in the Greater Indianapolis Foreign Trade Zone is up 32% over two years to 29 companies, with 19 more applying, and membership across Indiana's six foreign trade zones has climbed 53% statewide, according to zone general manager Anita Ford. Franklin-based electroplater Electro-Spec says the designation it obtained in late 2025 solved nearly all the tariff problems that once threatened half its revenue from 10% to 25% tariffs tied to France and China. NTN Bearing Corp.'s Whitestown warehouse uses its own foreign trade zone status to defer tariffs on parts bound for John Deere, Caterpillar, Subaru, Ford and Honda, even as NTN's Driveshaft division closes its Columbus plant and sues for a share of an estimated $130 billion in federal duty refunds. GE's Lafayette facility and Subaru of Indiana Automotive have both filed their own zone production authorizations covering EV components, extending the tool beyond legacy tariff relief. Bryce Carpenter, chief operating and strategy officer at Conexus Indiana, called the relief "aspirin for a broken arm" for companies losing tens of millions of dollars a month to tariffs, and the $24,000 to $60,000 annual compliance cost means smaller suppliers often can't access the same relief as NTN or GE.