DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
FOREIGN-TRADE ZONES BOARD
[Docket No. 47-83]
48 FR 56620
December 22, 1983
Proposed Foreign-Trade Zone Project, St. Louis, Missouri; Application for
Subzone; Ford Auto Plant, Hazelwood
TEXT: An application has been submitted to the Foreign-Trade Zones Board
(the Board) by the St. Louis County Port Authority, requesting special-
purpose subzone status for Ford Motor Corporation's auto assembly plant in
Hazelwood, Missouri, adjacent to the St. Louis 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 Decrember 4, 1983. The
applicant is authorized to make this proposal under Section 351.388 of the
Revised Statutes of Missouri.
The St. Louis County Port Authority, a political subdivision of the state
of Missouri, submitted an application to the Board for a general-purpose
foreign-trade zone on May 25, 1983 (Docket No. 19-83, 48 FR 26491, 6/8/83).
A public hearing was held on the proposal on June 29. Action is expected on
the application in early 1984.
The proposed subzone will be located at the Ford plant, 6250 N. Lindbergh
Rd., Hazelwood, Missouri. Employing 2500 persons, the 96-acre facility
produces autos and is being renovated to produce a new mini-van passenger
vehicle. Although most of the components are of domestic origin, about 2
percent of the components, including radio and wheels, are purchased from
abroad. Some 6 percent of the finished products are exported.
Zone procedures will exempt Ford from duty payments on the foreign
components it uses in 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 on the foreign components used at the
St. Louis plant is 7.4 percent compared with the 2.8 percent rate for
finished autos. The Customs costs savings will help Ford to improve the
cost-competitiveness of its U.S. plants compared with auto assembly
facilities abroad.
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; William L.
Duncan, District Director, U.S. Customs Service, North Central Region, 120
South Central Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63105; and Colonel Gary D. Beech, U.S.
Army Engineer District St. Louis, 210 Tucker Blvd., North, St. Louis, MO.
63101.
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 January 21, 1984.
A copy of the application is available for public inspection at each of
the following locations:
U.S. Dept. of Commerce District Office,
Suite 400, 120 South Central Avenue,
St. Louis, MO 63105.
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 16, 1983.
John J. Da Ponte, Jr.,
Executive Secretary.
[FR Doc. 83-33900 Filed 12-21-83; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-M