DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Foreign-Trade Zones Board
[Docket No. 27-83]
48 FR 37504
August 18, 1983
Foreign-Trade Zone 49, Newark/Elizabeth, New Jersey; Application for
Subzone at Ford's Auto Assembly Plant in Edison, New Jersey
TEXT: An application has been submitted to the Foreign-Trade Zones Board
(the Board) by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, grantee of
Foreign-Trade Zone 49, Newark/Elizabeth, New Jersey, requesting a
special-purpose subzone at Ford Motor Corporation's automobile assembly
plant in Edison, New Jersey, within the New York 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 July 27, 1983. The
application is authorized to make this proposal under Section 12:13-1 of
the New Jersey Statutes Annotated.
On April 6, 1979, the Board authorized the Port to establish a
foreign-trade zone project in the Newark/Elizabeth area (Board Order 146,
44 FR 22502, 4/16/79). It was expanded on May 26, 1983 (Board Order 211,
48 FR 24958, 6/3/83). The project covers 2100 acres in the Newark/
Elizabeth Port Authority Marine Terminal.
The proposed subzone will involve the Ford Auto assembly plant covering
77 acres on U.S. Highway 1, Edison, Middlesex County, New Jersey, some 18
miles from Newark. The facility has recently been renovated to produce the
front-wheel drive Escort/Lynx model automobiles. Through the majority of
the parts used at the plant are produced domestically, some 18 percent are
dutiable items, such as transaxles, radios, and electronic parts.
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 take advantage of the same duty rate available to importers of
finished autos. The average duty rate for the foreign components used at
the Edison plant is 3.8 percent compared with a 2.8 percent rate for
finished autos. The savings from zone procedures are expected to contribute
to Ford's efforts to reduce production costs, helping it compete with
offshore auto production facilities. Subzone status at the 1600-employee
Edison plant would be a contributing factor in helping increase plant
employment to its former level of over 2000.
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; Benjamin C.
Jefferson, Area Director, U.S. Customs Service, New York Region, Room
210 A, Airport International Plaza, Newark NJ 07114; and Colonel F. H.
Griffis, District Engineer, U.S. Army Engineer District New York, 26
Federal Plaza, New York, NY 102783.
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 September 26, 1983.
A copy of the application is available for public inspection at each of
the following locations:
Area Director's Office,
U.S. Customs Service,
Airport International Plaza, Room 210 A,
Newark, New Jersey 07114
Office of the Executive Secretary,
Foreign-Trade Zones Board,
U.S. Department of Commerce, Room 1872,
14th and Pennsylvania Ave., NW.,
Washington, D.C. 20230
Dated: August 11, 1983.
John J. Da Ponte, Jr.,
Executive Secretary.
[FR Doc. 83-22757 Filed 8-17-83; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-25-M