DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Foreign-Trade Zones Board
[Docket No. 43-83]
48 FR 55889
December 16, 1983
Foreign-Trade Zone 70, Detroit, Michigan; Application for Subzones --
General Motor's Ypsilanti and Pontiac Plants
TEXT: 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 70, Detroit, requesting subzone status for General
Motors Corporation (GM) auto assembly plants in Ypsilanti and Pontiac,
Michigan, adjacent to the Detroit 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 December 1, 1983. The applicant is authorized
to make this proposal under Act 154 of Public Laws of Michigan, 1953.
On July 21, 1981, GDFTZ received authority from the Board to establish a
foreign-trade zone project in the Detroit area (Board Order 176, 46 FR 38941,
7/30/81). The project's public sites are located in Dearborn and downtown
Detroit. The project already involves subzones for Chrysler and Ford plants
in the Detroit area.
GDFTZ now requests subzone status for GM's Ypsilanti and Pontiac plants.
Also called the Willow Run plant, the Ypsilanti facility covers 126 acres
at 2625 Tyler Road, Ypsilanti, some 16 miles west of Detroit's Metropolitan
Airport. Employing over 5,600 persons, the plant is used to assemble, paint,
finish and test Skylark and Omega model automobiles. Some 5 percent of the
components used are from foreign, sources, including engines, seat covers,
solenoids, crash pads, and wiring harnesses. About 5 percent of the
finished autos are exported.
The Pontiac plant covers 505 acres at One Pontiac Plaza in Pontiac, some
15 miles north of Detroit. This facility employs 9,500 persons and produces
Pontiac's Fiero model automobile. Production processes include stamping,
assembly, painting, finishing and testing. Though most of the parts and
material used at the plant are of domestic origin, some 2 percent of the
components, such as engines, radio components and engine controls, are of
foreign origin. Almost 10 percent of the plant's finished autos are
exported.
Zone procedures will exempt GM from duty payments on the foreign parts
it uses on its exports. On domestic sales, the company will be able to take
advantage of the same duty rate available to importers of finished autos.
Overall, the average duty rate on the foreign components used by GM is 4.3
percent compared with the rate for finished autos of 2.8 percent. The
savings from subzone status will contribute to the company's overall cost
reduction program, helping its U.S. plants become more competitive with
auto production plants offshore.
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; Louise A.
Mezzano, District Director, U.S. Customs Service, North Central Region, 477
Michigan Ave., Detroit, MI 48226; and Colonel Raymond T. Beurket, District
Engineer, U.S. Army Engineer District Detroit, P.O. Box 1027, Detroit, MI
48231.
Comments concerning the proposed subzones are invited in writing from
interested person and organizations. They should be addressed to the Board's
Executive Secretary at the address below and postmarked on or before January
18, 1984.
A copy of the application is available for public inspection at each of
the following locations:
U.S. Dept. of Commerce District Office,
Federal Building, Room 445,
231 West Lafayette Street,
Detroit, MI 48226 and
Office of the Executive Secretary,
Foreign-Trade Zones Board,
U.S. Department of Commerce, Room 1872,
14th and Pennsylvania, NW.,
Washington, D.C. 20230.
Dated: December 12, 1983.
John J. Da Ponte, Jr.,
Executive Secretary.
[FR Doc. 83-33474 Filed 12-15-83; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-M