[Federal Register: December 6, 1994]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Foreign-Trade Zones Board
[Docket 38-94]
Foreign-Trade Zone 77, Memphis, TN; Application for Subzone
Status Brother Industries (U.S.A.) Inc. (Typewriters and Word
Processors) Bartlett, TN
An application has been submitted to the Foreign-Trade Zones Board
(the Board) by the City of Memphis, Tennessee, grantee of FTZ 77,
requesting special-purpose subzone status at the typewriter and word
processor manufacturing facilities of Brother Industries (U.S.A.) Inc.
(Brother) (a subsidiary of Brother International Corporation (BIC))
located in Bartlett, Tennessee. 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 November 22, 1994.
The Brother facilities include a manufacturing site (231,000 sq.
ft., 25 acres) located at Brother Boulevard and Highway 64, Bartlett,
and a nearby BIC warehouse (270,000 sq. ft., 20 acres) located at 3131
Appling Road, Bartlett. Both sites are within the Bartlett Municipal
Industrial Park. The facilities (520 employees) are used to manufacture
electric and automatic typewriters and word processors. Certain
components are sourced from abroad, including circuit boards, disk
drives, signalling devices, motors, integrated circuits, capacitors,
diodes, transistors, resistors, wire, cable, springs, steel fasteners,
pulleys and gears. It is estimated that foreign status merchandise
would represent 50 to 60 percent of total product value.
Zone procedures would exempt Brother from Customs duty payments on
parts and materials used in finished products that are exported. On its
domestic sales, the company would be able to choose the finished
product duty rates (zero to 2.2%). The duty rates on components average
4 percent. The application indicates that the savings from zone
procedures would help improve the plant's international
competitiveness.
In accordance with the Board's regulations, a member of the FTZ
Staff has been appointed examiner to investigate the application and
report to the Board.
Public comment on the application is invited from interested
parties. Submissions (original and three copies) shall be addressed to
the Board's Executive Secretary at the address below. The closing
period for their receipt is [60 days from date of publication].
Rebuttal comments in response to material submitted during the
foregoing period may be submitted during the subsequent 15-day period
(to February 21, 1995).
A copy of the application and the accompanying exhibits will be
available for public inspection at each of the following locations.
Office of the Area Port Director, U.S. Customs Service, 3150
Tchulahoma, Suite 1, Memphis, Tennessee 38118.
Office of the Executive Secretary, Foreign-Trade Zones Board, Room
3716, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th Street & Constitution Avenue,
NW, Washington, DC 20230.
Dated: November 28, 1994.
John J. Da Ponte, Jr.,
Executive Secretary.
[FR Doc. 94-29995 Filed 12-5-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P