The shipment of 20,000 slippers was imported by Kaua'i-based Ribeiro Corp., one of the nation's leading importers of the Brazilian footwear. Ribeiro Corp. uses the foreign trade zone as a gateway to do business with companies on the Mainland and in Pacific Rim countries.

The shipment was symbolic of the effort by the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism to help small businesses in Hawai'i become involved in international trade, said Mark Anderson, deputy DBEDT director.

Hawai'i has one of the largest and most diversified foreign trade zone program in the country, with eight authorized general purpose sites and five subzones, Anderson said.

Foreign trade zones provide certain advantages to domestic companies involved in foreign trade. For example, duty-free treatment is accorded items that are processed in foreign trade zones and then reexported, and duty payment is deferred on items until they are brought out of the foreign trade zones for sale in the U.S. That helps to offset customs advantages available to overseas producers who compete with domestic industry.

Hilton Hotels Corp. to buy Britain's Hilton Group

Hilton Hotels Corp. said today it will buy the hotel assets of Britain's Hilton Group PLC for 3.3 billion pounds ($5.7 billion) cash, creating the world's biggest hotel company by revenue.

The deal reunites two brands that split in the 1960s, allowing Hilton to instantly overtake rivals such as Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. and Marriott International Inc. It also makes Hilton, which had been limited in scope to the United States and Canada, a global player, which will allow the company to expand some of its well-known domestic brands, such as Hampton Inn, to India, China and other markets.