DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Foreign-Trade Zones Board
[Docket No. 9-81]
46 FR 41837
August 18, 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 a Chrysler Corporation
assembly plant in Detroit, within 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 10, 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 Chrysler's Jefferson
Assembly Plant, located at 12200 East Jefferson Avenue, Detroit. The
120-acre facility has recently been renovated for the assembly of the
company's front-wheel drive K-cars using domestic and foreign components.
Zone procedures will allow Chrysler to export finished autos without
paying duties on foreign parts and materials. On its domestic 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. This
will assist Chrysler in competing with offshore assembly plants, helping
assure full employment at the 6000-worker Jefferson facility.
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 18, 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 Street,
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 13, 1981.
John J. Da Ponte, Jr.,
Executive Secretary,
Foreign-Trade Zones Board.
[FR Doc. 81-24028 Filed 8-17-81; 8:45 am]