NOTICES
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
(Docket 43-91)
Foreign-Trade Zone 92--Harrison
Co. MS; Application for Expansion and
Application for Subzone, Avondale Shipyard
Friday, August 9, 1991
An application has been submitted to the Foreign-Trade Zones Board (the
Board) by the Greater Gulfport/Biloxi Foreign-Trade Zone, Inc., grantee of
FTZ 92, requesting authority to expand its zone in Harrison County,
Mississippi, within the Gulfport Customs port of entry, and requesting
special- purpose subzone status at the shipyard of Avondale Enterprises,
Inc., located in Harrison County. 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 16, 1991.
FTZ 92 was approved on November 4, 1983 (Board Order 232, 48 FR 52107,
11/16/83), and currently covers 4 sites in Harrison County, Mississippi:
Site 1--5 acres within the Port of Gulfport Complex; Site 2--99 acres at
the Gulfport/Biloxi Regional Airport; Site 3--97 acres within the Bernard
Bayou Industrial Park; and Site 4--27 acres within the Long Beach
Industrial Park.
The grantee now requests authority to expand all four of its
general-purpose zone sites to include the larger projects of which they are
a part. Site l would cover the entire 167-acre Port of Gulfport complex
located on Highway 90 and 30th Avenue in Gulfport. Site 2 would involve a
717-acre industrial area within the regional airport at 14035 Airport Road,
Gulfport. Site 3 would cover the Bernard Bayou Industrial Park (2,501
acres) 1 mile north of Gulfport. Site 4 would involve the entire Long Beach
Industrial Park (484 acres) 5 miles west of Gulfport between Espy Avenue
and Beat Line Road. No manufacturing authority is being sought for the
general-purpose zone sites. Such requests would be made to the Board on a
case-by-case basis.
The proposed subzone for the Avondale shipyard (122 acres) is located at
13301 Industrial Seaway Road at the Bernard Bayou Industrial Park. The
facility is used for the construction, repair and conversion of commercial
and military vessels for domestic and international customers. Foreign
components used by the company include clutches, compressors, depth
sounders, diesel engines, electric motors, gate valves, generators, hatch
covers and hydraulic lifts. While there is no indicated use of foreign
steel mill products, the applicant is aware that Board decisions on
shipyard cases have included a standard restriction requiring the payment
of full duties on such products.
Zone procedures will help Avondale reduce production costs on its current
orders and compete internationally for new contracts. Most of the foreign
components are subject to Customs duties, which range from 2 to 8 percent,
while the finished products, as oceangoing vessels, are duty free.
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: John J. Da Ponte, Jr. (Chairman), Director,
Foreign-Trade Zones Staff, U.S. Department of Commerce, Washington, D.C.
20230; David L. Willette, District Director, U.S. Customs Service, South
Central Region, 150 North Royal, Mobile, Alabama 36602; and, Colonel Michael
F. Thuss, District Engineer, U.S. Army Engineer District Mobile, P.0. Box
2288, Mobile, Alabama 36628-0001.
Comments concerning the proposed expansion are invited in writing from
interested parties. They should be addressed to the Board's Executive
Secretary at the address below and postmarked on or before
September 20, 1991.
A copy of the application is available for public inspection at each of the
following locations:
Port Director's Office, U.S. Customs Service,
One Government Plaza Building,
Gulfport, Mississippi 39502.
Office of the Executive Secretary,
Foreign-Trade Zones Board,
U.S. Department of Commerce,
14th & Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., room 3716,
Washington, DC 20230.
Dated: August 1, 1991.
John J. Da Ponte, Jr.,
Executive Secretary.
[FR Doc. 91-18990 Filed 8-8-91; 8:45 am]