DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Foreign-Trade Zones Board
[Docket No. 27-82; Foreign-Trade Zone 35, Philadelphia]
47 FR 50001
November 4, 1982
Application for Subzone at Ford's Electronic Auto Parts Plant, Lansdale,
Pennsylvania
TEXT: Notice is hereby given that an application has been submitted to the
Foreign-Trade Zones Board (the Board) by the Philadelphia Port Corporation
(the Port), grantee of Foreign-Trade Zone 35, requesting a special-purpose
subzone at the electronic automotive products plant of Ford Aerospace and
Communications Corporation, Lansdale, Pennsylvania, adjacent to the
Philadelphia Customs port of entry. The application was submitted pursuant
to the provisions of the Foreign-Trade Zones Act, as amended (19 U.S.C.
81a-81u), and the regulations of the Board (15 CFR Part 400). It was
formally filed on October 26, 1982. The applicant is authorized to make
this proposal under Pennsylvania State Act No. 126 (Pub. L. 291).
On March 24, 1978, the Board authorized the Port to establish a
foreign-trade zone project in the Philadelphia area (Board Order 128, 43
FR 14531, April 6, 1978). The project covers 72 acres adjacent to
Philadelphia International Airport and 12 acres at Pier 78 South in the
port area, with facilities available for warehousing, processing and
manufacturing.
The Port now requests subzone status for Ford's electronic automotive
components manufacturing plant, a 485,000 square-foot facility located on
36 acres at Church Road and Wissahickon Avenue on Lansdale. The facility
is used for the finishing of components, and the manufacture and testing
of auto tape cassettes and radios, speed controls, wiper assemblies,
ignition systems, voltage regulators, sensors, engine controls, and
clocks. About 50 percent of the components used are dutiable.
Zone procedures will allow Ford to export finished products without
paying duties on the foreign parts and material. On products used in the
domestic assembly of automobiles, Ford can take advantage of the same
duty rate available to importers of finished autos.
About 50 to 75 percent of the plant's output is expected to be either
shipped abroad or to auto assembly subzones in the U.S. The savings from
zone procedures are expected to play an important role in efforts to
restore full operations at the Lansdale plant, adding some 1,400 workers
to the current labor force of 1,100.
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), Foreign-Trade Zones
Staff, U.S. Dept. of Commerce, Washington, D.C. 20230; Edward A. Goggin,
Assistant Regional Commissionor (Operations), U.S. Customs Service,
Northeast Region, 100 Summer Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02110; and Lt.
Colonel Roger L. Baldwin, District Engineer, U.S. Army Engineer District
Philadelphia, 2nd and Chestnut Streets, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19106.
Comments concerning the proposed subzone 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 December 6, 1982.
A copy of the application is available for public inspection at each of
the following locations:
U.S. Dept. of Commerce District Office,
9448 Federal Building,
600 Arch Street,
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19106.
Office of the Executive Secretary,
Foreign-Trade Zones Board,
U.S. Department of Commerce,
14th and Constitution, Room 1519,
Washington, D.C. 20230.
Dated: November 1, 1982.
John J. Da Ponte, Jr.,
Executive Secretary, Foreign-Trade Zone Board.
[FR Doc. 82-30352 Filed 11-3-82; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-25-M