An advanced materials manufacturer serving the semiconductor industry in Kyle could see significant annual tariff savings after a City Council vote April 7.

The overview: ENF (Kyle) Technology LLC has an active application to designate its Kyle facility, established in 2018, as a Foreign Trade Zone, according to agenda documents. At an April 7 meeting, the City Council approved a letter of no objection in support of the company’s application.

An FTZ is a federally approved area under the U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s supervision but considered outside of the department’s territory. Companies established as an FTZ can import goods without needing to pay tariffs or federal duties until goods enter the U.S. market. Exports from the zone are not taxed.

An FTZ designation would save the company approximately $300,000 in tariff duties each year.

Diving deeper: The company’s FTZ participation could reduce city inventory-related property tax revenues. Staff proposed a Payment in Lieu of Taxes, or PILOT, agreement to ensure Kyle does not lose property tax revenue.

Established in 2021, the Gotji’s Kitchen team is celebrating five years of business. The Thai food truck is located at Cambria and Jordan’s Rail Switch food park in historic downtown Buda.

The overview: Gotji’s Kitchen serves a variety of dishes from egg rolls to fried rice.

Menu items include:

• The Best Pad Thai

• Pork eggrolls

• Tom kha

• Bangkok Fried Rice

• Texas Curry

The menu also features Thai Tea, a sweet black tea drink.

One more thing: Gotji’s also has a Thai and fresh pasta restaurant in Austin, located at 10212 Menchaca Road.

• 400 Main St., Buda

Texas is home to the nation’s fastest-growing data center market, with one January report projecting that the state will see a 142% increase in its share of the data center industry by the end of 2028.

During a wide-ranging Texas House hearing April 9, lawmakers questioned data center developers, energy companies and state grid officials about the amount of water the large facilities use; how they impact noise levels and air quality; and whether residents can expect higher costs when data centers come to their communities.

What they're saying: “Water is a really scarce resource in this state, and so we have to have a clear picture of what these facilities use on the water side,” said Thomas Gleeson, chair of the Public Utility Commission of Texas.

More details: Data centers use water to cool their computer servers and prevent overheating. The facilities have historically used a water-intensive process known as "evaporative cooling," but data center executives said April 9 that they have transitioned to “closed-loop” systems where water is continuously reused.