DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Foreign-Trade Zones Board
[Docket No. 12-81]
46 FR 43481
August 28, 1981
Foreign-Trade Zone No. 70, Detroit; Application for Special-Purpose Subzone
TEXT: Notice is hereby given that an application has been submitted to the
Foreign-Trade Zones board (the Board) by the Greater Detroit Foreign-Trade
Zone, Inc. (GDFTZ), grantee of Foreign-Trade Zone No. 70, requesting
authority to establish a special-purpose subzone at Volkswagen of America's
vehicle assembly plant in Sterling Heights, Michigan, adjacent to the
Detroit Customs port of entry. The application was submitted pursuant to
the provisions of the Foreign-Trade Zones Act of 1934, as amended (19
U.S.C. 81a-81u), and the regulations of the Board (15 CFR Part 400). It
was formally filed on August 24, 1981.
On July 21, 1981, the Board authorized GDFTZ to establish a foreign-
trade zone project in the Detroit area consisting of general-purpose zone
sites in downtown Detroit and Dearborn, and a subzone at the Ford tractor
plant in Romeo, Michigan (Board Order 176, 46 FR 38941, 7-30-81). GDFTZ
is a Michigan non-profit corporation affiliated with the City of Detroit
and the Greater Detroit Chamber of Commerce which was incorporated in
1979 to assist the area's international trade through the establishment
of a trade zone program. It is authorized to submit zone applications
under Chapter 447, Act 154, Michigan Public Acts of 1963 (MSA 21.302 (1)).
The applicant proposes to establish a subzone for the new Sterling
Heights plant of Volkswagen of America, Inc., located on Michigan Highway
53 at Metropolitan Parkway. The subzone would cover 103 acres within the
283-acre facility which was recently purchased by Volkswagen. The company
is currently in the process of renovating the plant for the assembly of
light trucks and autos from domestic and foreign components.
Zone procedures will allow Volkswagen to export finished vehicles
without paying duties on foreign parts and materials. On its domestic
auto sales, the company will be able to take advantage of the duty rate
applicable to finished autos, which is lower than the rate for many
components. A subzone was approved in 1978 for Volkswagen's first U.S.
assembly plant in New Stanton, Pennsylvania. Zone status will assist the
company in the development of the 4,000-worker assembly facility in
Sterling Heights as the company continues to transfer assembly operations
to the U.S. from abroad.
In accordance with the board's regulations, an Examiners Committee has
been appointed to investigate the application and report to the Board.
The committee consists of Dennis Puccinelli (Chairman), International
Trade Specialist, Foreign-Trade Zones Staff, U.S. Department of Commerce,
Washington, D.C. 20230; Louis A. Mezzano, District Director, U.S. Customs
Service, Region IX, 477 Michigan Avenue, Detroit, Michigan 48226; and
Colonel Robert V. Vermillion, District engineer, U.S. Army Engineer
District Detroit, P.O. Box 1027, Detroit, Michigan 48231.
Comments concerning the proposed zone expansion are invited in writing
from interested persons and organizations. They should be addressed to the
Board's Executive Secretary at the address below and postmarked on or
before September 30, 1981.
A copy of the application is available for public inspection at each of
the following locations:
U.S. Department of Commerce District Office,
Federal Building, Room 445,
231 West Layfayette,
Detroit, Michigan 48226
Office of the Executive Secretary,
Foreign-Trade Zones Board,
U.S. Department of Commerce,
14th and E Streets, N.W., Room 2006,
Washington, D.C. 20230
Dated: August 25, 1981.
John J. Da Ponte, Jr.,
Executive Secetary,
Foreign-Trade Zones Board.
[FR Doc. 81-25269 Filed 8-27-81; 8:45 am]