San Diego's foreign trade zone has been extended into Lake Elsinore, Murrieta and Temecula, and the Riverside County Office of Foreign Trade announced success in its years-long effort to establish foreign trade zones in the county.

Riverside County foreign trade officials and the San Diego mayor's office got the green light for foreign trade zones to be set up in a as part of the existing San Diego foreign trade zone, Riverside County Foreign Trade Commissioner Tom Freeman said.

The decision by the Foreign Trade Board in Washington allows warehouses to be fenced off as customs-free zones. Manufacturers do not have to pay import duties on goods brought into the zones unless they are "exported" to the United States, and do not have to pay import taxes on the increased values of the goods added by labor in the U.S.

"Businesses ... will save, potentially, millions of dollars on an annual basis, as this reduces fees and taxes and tariffs on goods brought into the United States," Freeman said.

With the San Diego expansion, Riverside County became the only one in California with three foreign trade zones within its limits, Freeman said. Around 4,000 manufacturers were based in Riverside County, making it twenty-third nationwide in exports, he said.

"We're elated the federal government agreed with with the county of Riverside and city of San Diego ... this is a tremendous business opportunity," Freeman said.

Two other trade zones have branches in Riverside County.