[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 167 (Monday, August 30, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Page 52857]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-19723]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Foreign-Trade-Zones Board

[Order No. 1347]


Proposals to Facilitate the Use of Foreign-Trade-Zones by Small 
and Medium-Sized Manufacturers

    Pursuant to its authority under the Foreign-Trade Zones Act, of 
June 18, 1934, as amended (19 U.S.C. 81a-81u), the Foreign-Trade 
Zones Board (the Board) adopts the following Order:

    Whereas, the Foreign-Trade Zones (FTZ) Board (the Board), as part 
of the Department of Commerce's manufacturing initiative, has performed 
a benchmark analysis of the FTZ program to determine whether there are 
features that can be implemented to reduce the program's costs for 
small and medium-sized manufacturers, thereby helping to improve such 
companies' international competitiveness;
    Whereas, the FTZ Board subsequently published a Federal Register 
notice on April 5, 2004 (69 FR 17643) describing two proposals \1\ to 
implement features identified through the benchmark analysis and 
inviting public comment on those proposals;
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    \1\ The proposals involved: (1) Delegation of limited authority 
to the Board's Executive Secretary for decision-making on certain 
requests for manufacturing authority and (2) enhancements to the 
Board's pre-application procedures for small and medium-sized 
manufacturers.
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    Whereas, the FTZ Board staff has prepared a report (``Enhancing the 
Foreign-Trade Zones Program for Small and Medium-Sized Manufacturers'') 
recommending adoption of the proposals described in the Federal 
Register notice;
    Now, therefore, the FTZ Board adopts the recommendations of the FTZ 
Board staff report and hereby delegates authority to the FTZ Board's 
Executive Secretary to grant temporary or interim (T/IM) authority for 
manufacturing within pre-existing FTZ space, subject to the conditions, 
restrictions, and limitations described in the Board's Federal Register 
notice (69 FR 17643, 4/5/04) and in the FTZ Board staff report, and 
further subject to a requirement that the FTZ Board staff will notify 
the Board members (or their delegates) of all grants of T/IM authority 
on a quarterly basis. The FTZ Board also authorizes the Executive 
Secretary to establish enhanced pre-application procedures for small 
and medium-sized manufacturers as described in the proposal and in the 
FTZ Board staff report. The effective date for implementation of this 
order shall be sixty (60) days from the date of publication of this 
notice.

    Signed at Washington, DC, this 18th day of August 2004.
James J. Jochum,
Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Import Administration, Alternate 
Chairman, Foreign-Trade Zones Board.
[FR Doc. 04-19723 Filed 8-27-04; 8:45 am]
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