Foreign-Trade Zone 70; Application for Subzone at Ford Auto Plant, Dearborn,
Michigan
TEXT: An application has been submitted to the Foreign-Trade Zones Board (The
Board) by the Greater Detroit Foreign-Trade Zone, Inc. (GDFTZ), a Michigan
non-profit corporation and grantee of Foreign-Trade Zone 70, requesting authority
for a special-purpose subzone at a Ford Motor Corporation auto assembly plant in
Dearborn, Michigan, within the Detroit Customs port of entry. It was sumbitted
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 April 21, 1983. The applicant is authorized to make this proposal under
Chapter 447, Act 154, Michigan Public Acts of 1963 (MSA 21.302(1)).
On July 21, 1981, the Board authorized GDFTZ to establish a foreign trade zone
project in the Detroit area (Board Order 176, 46 FR 38941, July 30, 1981).
General-purpose zone facilities are located at the Clark Street Port facility in
Detroit and at a distribution complex in Dearborn. The project also includes
subzones at Ford's tractor plant in Romeo, Michigan, at Chrysler's Jefferson
Assembly Plant in Detroit, and at Ford's Wayne auto assembly plant.
GDFTZ now requests subzone status for Ford's Dearborn plant, which covers
72 acres at 3001 Miller Road in Dearborn, Michigan, some 12 miles from
downtown Detroit. The facility is used for the assembly of compact automobiles.
Although most of the parts and material used at the plant are produced
domestically, about 6 percent of the components, such as radios, engines and
transmissions, are imported.
Zone procedures will exempt Ford from paying duties on foreign components
used for its exports. On its domestic sales, the company will be able to defer duty
and to take advantage of the same duty rate available to importers of finished
autos. The average duty rate for the foreign components Ford uses at its plant is
4.5 percent whereas the rate for finished autos is 2.8 percent. The savings from
zone procedures are expected to contribute to Ford's efforts to reduce plant costs,
helping to make it more competitive with auto production facilities offshore. This
will encourage Ford to keep the Dearborn facility in operaton and create an
environment which could lead to a possible increase in the plant's workforce,
currently some 3200 persons.
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.
Department of Commerce, Washington, D.C. 20230; Louis A. Mezzano, District
Director, U.S. Customs Service, North Central Region, 447 Michigan Avenue,
Detroit, Michigan 48226; and Colonel Raymond T. Beurket, District Engineer,
U.S. Army Engineer District Detroit, P.O. Box 1027, Detroit, Michigan 48231.
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 June 3, 1983.
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 Lafayette Street,
Detroit, Michigan 48226
Office of the Executive Secretary,
Foreign-Trade Zones Board,
U.S. Department of Commerce, Room 1872,
14th and Pennsylvania, N.W.,
Washington, D.C. 20230
Dated: April 26, 1983.
John J. Da Ponte, Jr.
Executive Secretary.
[FR Doc. 83-11739 Filed 5-2-83; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-25-M