[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 211 (Tuesday, November 2, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Page 59160]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-28658]



[[Page 59160]]

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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Foreign-Trade Zones Board
[Docket 52-99]


Foreign-Trade Subzone 229A--Buffalo, WV; Expansion of 
Manufacturing Authority, Toyota Motor Manufacturing West Virginia, Inc. 
(Automobile Transmissions)

    An application has been submitted to the Foreign-Trade Zones Board 
(the Board) by the West Virginia Economic Development Authority, 
grantee of FTZ 229, requesting authority on behalf of Toyota Motor 
Manufacturing West Virginia, Inc. (TMMWV), operator of Subzone 229A, at 
the TMMWV plant located in Buffalo, West Virginia, to expand the scope 
of FTZ authority to include the manufacture of automobile transmissions 
under FTZ procedures. It was formally filed on October 25, 1999.
    Subzone 229A was approved in 1998 with activity granted for the 
manufacture of internal-combustion engines for automobiles (Board Order 
955, 63 FR 9177, 2-14-98). An application for an expansion of the scope 
of manufacturing authority to include new engine capacity under FTZ 
procedures is currently pending (Docket 3-99, 64 FR 6877, 2-11-99).
    TMMWV is now requesting that its scope of manufacturing authority 
be extended to include increased capacity for the production of 
automobile transmissions. The completed transmissions will be shipped 
to Toyota's automobile assembly plant in Kentucky. The TMMWV plant's 
capacity will be increased to produce 360,000 automatic transmissions 
per year, and the activity will involve machining and assembly using 
domestic and foreign-origin components. The expanded operations will 
maintain or reduce the current level of foreign-sourced components used 
in the manufacturing process. Components to be sourced from abroad will 
at the outset comprise about 60% of the finished transmissions' 
material value, including: body check balls, spring pins, springs, 
rollers, spacers, snap rings, wire trim, neutral start switches, shims, 
and washer springs (duty rates: free--4.4%).
    FTZ procedures would exempt TMMWV from Customs duty payments on the 
foreign components used in production for export. On transmissions 
shipped to domestic auto assembly plants, company would be able to 
choose the 2.5 percent automobile duty rate for the foreign inputs 
noted above when the transmissions (as components of autos) are 
processed for Customs entry. The transmission rate (2.6%) would apply 
to the foreign components if the finished transmissions are directly 
entered for consumption from the TMMWV plant. The application indicates 
that the savings from FTZ procedures would help improve the facility's 
international competitiveness.
    In accordance with the Board's regulations, a member of the FTZ 
Staff has been designated 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 January 3, 2000. Rebuttal comments in 
response to material submitted during the foregoing period may be 
submitted during the subsequent 15-day period (to January 17, 2000).
    A copy of the application and the accompanying exhibits will be 
available for public inspection at each of the following locations:

U.S. Department of Commerce Export Assistance Center, Suite 807, 405 
Capitol Street, Charleston, WV 25301
Office of the Executive Secretary, Foreign-Trade Zones Board, U.S. 
Department of Commerce, Room 3716, 14th Street & Pennsylvania Avenue, 
NW, Washington, DC 20230

    Dated: October 25, 1999.
Dennis Puccinelli,
Acting Executive Secretary, Foreign-Trade Zones Board.
[FR Doc. 99-28658 Filed 11-1-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P