DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
FOREIGN-TRADE ZONES BOARD
[Docket No. 48-83]
48 FR 56621
December 22, 1983
Foreign-Trade Zone 40, Cleveland, Ohio; Application for Subzone; Ford Auto
Plant, Lorain, Ohio
TEXT: An application has been submitted to the Foreign-Trade Zones Board
(the Board) by the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority (the Port
Authority), grantee of Foreign-Trade Zone 40, Cleveland, requesting
special-purpose subzone status for Ford Motor Corporation's automobile
assembly plant in Lorain, Ohio, adjacent to the Cleveland 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 4, 1983. The applicant is authorized to make this proposal under
Section 4582.06(f) of the Ohio Revised Code.
On September 29, 1978, the Board authorized the Port Authority to
establish a foreign-trade zone project for the Cleveland area (Board Order
135, 43 FR 46886, 10/11/78). It was expanded on June 18, 1982 (Board Order
194, 47 FR 27579, 6/25/82). The project currently involves a 600,000 square
foot multi-purpose building on Cleveland harbor and an international
exhibition center and industrial complex covering 175 acres adjacent to
Cleveland Hopkins International Airport.
The proposed subzone will be located at the Ford plant, 5401 Baumhart
Road, Lorain. The 212-acre facility employs some 5,400 persons, and
produces the new, downsized Thunderbird/Cougar model automobile. Though the
majority of the parts used at the plant are produced domestically, some 3
percent are dutiable items, such as optional engines and transmissions, and
electronic parts. Over 7 percent of the finished products are exported.
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 Lorain plant is 6.0 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.
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; John F. Nelson,
District Director, U.S. Customs Service, North Central Region, 55 Erieview
Plaza, 6th Floor, Cleveland, OH 44114; and Colonel Robert R. Hardiman,
District Engineer, U.S. Army Engineer District Buffalo, 1776 Niagara Street,
Buffalo, NY 14207.
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,
666 Euclid Avenue, Room 600,
Cleveland, OH 44114;
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. 83-33901 Filed 12-21-83; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-M