[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 249 (Friday, December 27, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 79046-79047]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-32727]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Foreign-Trade Zones Board

[Docket 59-2002]


Foreign-Trade Zone 98--Birmingham, AL, Application for Expansion 
of Manufacturing Authority, Subzone 98A--Mercedes-Benz U.S. 
International, Inc. (Motor Vehicles); Tuscaloosa County, AL

    An application has been submitted to the Foreign-Trade Zones Board 
(the Board) by the City of Birmingham, Alabama, grantee of FTZ 98, on 
behalf of Mercedes-Benz U.S. International, Inc. (MBUSI), operator of 
Subzone 98A at the MBUSI motor vehicle manufacturing plant in 
Tuscaloosa County, Alabama, requesting an expansion of the scope of 
manufacturing authority to include new manufacturing capacity under FTZ 
procedures. 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 17, 2002.
    Subzone 98A was approved in 1996 for the manufacture of up to 
80,000 light-duty passenger vehicles annually at the MBUSI plant (2,000 
employees/900 acres/1.7 million sq.ft.) in Tuscaloosa County (Board 
Order 803, 61 FR 8237, March 4, 1996).
    The applicant currently requests that the scope of FTZ 
manufacturing authority be extended to include additional production 
capacity (to a total of 250,000 vehicles annually) to be added within 
the existing boundaries of Subzone 98A.
    Parts and materials that are sourced from abroad (approximately 15-
20% of total purchases) include: oil, synthetic paint, glue/adhesives, 
chemical products/preparations, articles of plastic and rubber tubes/
hoses/plates/sheets/film/profiles/fittings, handles/knobs, gaskets/
seals, o-rings, rubber belts, tires, fasteners, gasoline and diesel 
engines, parts of engines (cylinder heads, short blocks, connecting 
rods), turbo/superchargers, compressors, pumps, fans, air conditioner 
components, filters, fire extinguishers, pulleys, flywheels, ignition 
parts, bushings, dampeners, textile cases, carpet sets, glass, mirrors, 
catalytic converters, steel flanges/fittings, springs, brake cables, 
articles of copper, aluminum fasteners, clamps, locks, hinges, 
pneumatic cylinders, clutches (and related parts), electronic 
controlling apparatus, resistors, transceivers, am-fm radio/cd 
receivers, compact disc players, navigational systems, alarms, electric 
motors, generators, valves, actuators, bearings, thermostats, 
transmission shafts/gears/sprockets, torque converters, hubs, universal 
joints, drive shafts, batteries, fuses, relays, voltage regulators, 
conductors, fiberoptic cables, switches, printed circuit assemblies, 
telephonic equipment, electrical control apparatus, starters, lighting/
signaling equipment, windshield wipers, defrosters, parts of infrared 
lamps, bumpers, seat belts, airbags and modules, body stampings, 
wheels, radiators, exhaust systems, steering wheels/boxes, flat panel 
displays, pyrometers, flow/pressure/supply meters, oxygen sensors, 
speedometers, tachometers, and seats (duty rate range: free--20%). The 
list represents an expanded scope of MBUSI's existing scope of sourcing 
authority.
    Expanded zone procedures would continue to exempt MBUSI from 
Customs duty payments on the foreign components used in production for 
export. On its domestic sales and exports to NAFTA countries, the 
company can choose the lower duty rate that applies to finished 
passenger vehicles (2.5%) for the foreign inputs noted above. The 
application indicates that the savings from FTZ procedures would help 
improve the MBUSI plant'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 following addresses:
    1. Submissions via Express/Package Delivery Services: Foreign-Trade 
Zones Board, U.S. Department of Commerce, Franklin Court Building, 
Suite 4100W, 1099 14th Street, NW., Washington, DC 20005; or,

[[Page 79047]]

    2. Submissions via the U.S. Postal Service: Foreign-Trade Zones 
Board, U.S. Department of Commerce, FCB-4100W, 1401 Constitution Ave., 
NW., Washington, DC 20230.
    The closing period for their receipt is February 25, 2003. Rebuttal 
comments in response to material submitted during the foregoing period 
may be submitted during the subsequent 15-day period (to March 12, 
2003).
    A copy of the application will be available for public inspection 
at the Office of the Foreign-Trade Zones Board's Executive Secretary at 
address No. 1 listed above.

    Dated: December 17, 2002.
Dennis Puccinelli,
Executive Secretary.
[FR Doc. 02-32727 Filed 12-26-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P