DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Foreign-Trade Zones Board
[Docket Nos. 22, 23 and 24-84]
49 FR 20748
May 16, 1984
Proposed Foreign-Trade Zone, Subzones, and Oil Refinery Subzones; Nueces
County, Texas, Within the Corpus Christi Customs Port of Entry; Applications
and Public Hearing
TEXT: Applications have been submitted to the Foreign-Trade Zones Board (the
Board) by the Port of Corpus Christi Authority (the Port Authority), a Texas
public corporation, requesting authority to establish a general-purpose
foreign-trade zones (Doc. 22-84), and several subzones (Doc. 23-84),
including three for oil refineries (Doc 24-84). All of the sites are in
Nueces County, Texas, within the Corpus Christi Customs port of entry. The
applications were submitted pursuant to the provisions of the Foreign-Trade
Zones Act, as amended (19 CFR Part 400). They were filed on May 7, 1984.
The applicant is authorized to make the proposals under House Bill No.
1200, 68th Texas Legislature, Regular Session, signed June 17, 1983.
The proposed general-purpose zone will involve eleven sites totalling
630 acres. Two sites are owned by the Port Authority and will be used for
future expansion. Two involve City facilities -- the Corpus Christi
Industrial Technology Park and a portion of Corpus Christi International
Airport. The remaining seven sites are at privately owned warehousing
operations. The firms involved are M & M Sales, Ray East Warehouse,
American Petrofina, Berry Contracting, Block Distributing Company, and
Corpus Christi Warehouse & Storage.
One of the applications for special-purpose subzones (Doc. 23-84)
involves six private distribution and manufacturing operations: CC
Distributing, a private plumbing supplies warehouse; H.E. Butt Grocery
Company, a private hardware and consumer goods warehouse; Baker's Port,
which assembles and repairs oil rigs; Compressors of Texas, an industrial
air conditioning repair operation, requesting an export only subzone;
Berry Contracting, a manufacturer of pressure vessels, and oil and gas
piping systems, requesting an export only subzone; and Hitox Corporation,
a manufacturer of pigments. Zone procedures would exempt the companies
from duty payment on the products they export. On their domestic sales,
they would defer duty and avoid duty on wastage.
The application for oil refinery subzones (Doc. 24-84) involves three
crude oil refining operations: Coastal States Petroleum, Southwestern
Refining, and Trifinery. Zone procedures would allow the companies to
avoid duties on the refined products they export. On their domestic sales,
they would be able to defer duty payments and avoid duties on fuel
consumed in the refining process. Subzone status should encourage the
companies to increase involvement in toll refining arrangements and
increase capacity utilization.
In accordance with the Board's regulations, an examiners committee has
been appointed to investigate the applications and report to the Board.
The committee consists of: John J. Da Ponte, Jr. (Chairman), Director,
Foreign-Trade Zones Staff, U.S. Department of Commerce, Washington, D.C.
20230; Donald Gough, Deputy Assistant Regional Commissioner, U.S. Customs
Service, Southwest Region, Suite 500, 5850 San Felipe St., Houston, TX
77057; and Colonel Alan L. Laubscher, District Engineer, U.S. Army
Engineer District Galveston, P.O. Box 1229, Galveston, TX 77553.
As part of its investigation of the applications, the examiners
committee will hold a public hearing on June 14, 1984, beginning at 9:00
a.m., in Room 221, Bayfront Plaza Convention Center, 1901 North Shoreline,
Corpus Christi.
Interested parties are invited to present their views at the hearing.
Persons wishing to testify should notify the Board's Executive Secretary
in writing at the address below or by phone (202/377-2862) by June 5.
Instead of an oral presentation, written statements may be submitted in
accordance with the Board's regulations to the examiners committee, care
of the Executive Secretary, at any time from the date of this notice
through July 16, 1984.
Copies of the applications and accompanying exhibits will be available
during this time for public inspection at each of the following locations:
Port Director's Office,
U.S. Customs Service,
Oil Indust. Bldg., 11th Floor,
723 Upper Broadway,
P.O. Box 1027,
Corpus Christi, TX 78403
Office of the Executive Secretary,
Foreign-Trade Zones Board,
U.S. Dept. of Commerce, Room 1872,
14th and Pennsylvania, NW.,
Washington, D.C. 20230
Dated: May 10, 1984.
John J. Da Ponte, Jr.,
Executive Secretary.
[FR Doc. 84-13120 Filed 5-15-84; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-M