Indianapolis-based Brightpoint Inc. said Tuesday that subsidiary Brightpoint North America LP has been granted foreign trade subzone status by the U.S. Department of Commerce and the Foreign Trade Zone Board.

J. Mark Howell, president of Brightpoint Americas, said in a prepared statement that the approval of foreign trade subzone status should help the mobile device distributor be more competitive in the global wireless market.

Brightpoint received the subzone status for its manufacturing operations in Plainfield.

Foreign trade zones are part of a national economic incentive program designed to enhance foreign trade. Products that enter central Indiana’s foreign trade zone, called INzone, may not be subject to U.S. Customs duties until they are released for use in the United States. Further, if goods come into the INzone and are then exported again, they may never be subject to U.S. Customs duties.

There are more than 250 foreign trade zones in the United States, with about 2,800 companies taking advantage of the benefits.

InZone's five zones are: Indianapolis International Airport; Park Fletcher; Park 100; Plainfield Business Park and the city of Anderson. InZone also oversees subzones, which are created for a particular company's warehouse, manufacturing or assembly facility.

In Indianapolis, Brightpoint joins more than a dozen companies that have been granted subzone status, including include Eli Lilly and Co., Rolls-Royce Corp. and Thomson Multimedia Inc.