[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 237 (Friday, December 10, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 71779-71780]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-27183]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Foreign-Trade Zones Board

[Docket 56-2004]


Foreign-Trade Zone 259--International Falls, MN; Application for 
Subzone Status, Arctic Cat, Inc. (All-Terrain Vehicle Engines and 
Snowmobiles) Thief River Falls, MN

    An application has been submitted to the Foreign-Trade Zones Board 
(the Board) by the Koochiching Economic Development Authority, grantee 
of FTZ 259, requesting special-purpose subzone status for the all-
terrain vehicle engine and snowmobile manufacturing facilities of 
Arctic Cat, Inc. (ACI), located in Thief River Falls, Minnesota. 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 3, 2004.
    The proposed subzone would be comprised of four separate sites: 
Site 1 (77 acres/517,000 sq.ft., manufacturing plant)--601 Brooks 
Avenue, Thief River Falls (Pennington County), Minnesota; Site 2 (3 
acres/60,000 sq. ft., manufacturing plant)--817 Lowell Drive, Thief 
River Falls, located immediately to the south of Site 1; Site 3 (60 
acres, company test track)--Greenwood Street West between County Route 
75 and State Route 32, located across Greenwood Street to the south of 
Site 2; and, Site 4 (20,000 sq.ft., warehouse)--``Hartz Warehouse'', 
120 Arnold Avenue South, located about 1,000 feet to the east of Site 
1. The facilities (1,200 employees) are used to manufacture all-terrain 
vehicles (ATV) and snowmobiles, assemble ATV engines, and to distribute 
U.S. and foreign-made ATVs, snowmobiles, related parts and branded 
accessories for export and the U.S. market. The manufacturing process 
at the facilities involves machining, painting, assembly, and testing. 
ACI proposes to assemble ATV engines and snowmobiles under FTZ 
procedures. The facilities can produce between 30,000 to 65,000 
snowmobiles and 20,000 to 55,000 ATV engines annually, which are 
assembled from domestic and foreign-origin components. Components 
purchased from abroad (representing approximately 65% of total material 
cost) include: spark-ignition engines, articles of rubber (o-rings, 
seals, drive/V-belts, hoses, dampers/plugs/covers), strips, roller 
chain, fasteners (screws, nuts, washers, bolts, clips, studs, pins), 
clamps, oil strainers, crankshafts, balancers, pistons, camshafts, 
cylinder heads, starter motors, remote starters, water pumps, oil 
pumps, valves, shafts (drive, counter, secondary), bushings, pulleys, 
universal joints, sprockets, transmissions, gears, gear drives, axles, 
hubs, flywheels, rotors, idlers, electronic control units, ignition 
coils, spark plugs, voltage regulators, resistors, fuses, capacitors, 
relays, circuit boards, circuit protectors/breakers, stators, diodes, 
generators, transformers, wiring harnesses, magnets, solenoids, 
sensors, A/C condensers, electrical terminals/junction boxes/sockets, 
drive sheaves, parts of transmissions, clutches, CDI (capacitive 
discharge) units, bearings (ball, spherical, needle, tapered roller 
shaft; subject to ADD/CVD-must be admitted under privileged foreign 
status), articles of plastic (fittings, caps, decals, strips, sheets, 
knobs, seals, washer, o-rings, v-belts), tires, steel and alloy tube/
pipe/wire/coil hooks, springs (leaf, helical), aluminum stampings, 
titanium tubes/bars/rods, locks, keys, hinges, castors, mountings, 
turbochargers, aluminum heat exchangers and parts, winches, batteries, 
lighting equipment, horns, alarms, block heaters, LCD screens, body 
stampings, bumpers, brake parts, shock absorbers, wheels, radiators, 
mufflers, steering parts, trailers, gauges, oxygen sensors, odometers, 
speedometers, meters, and thermostats (duty rate range: free--15.0%). 
FTZ procedures would exempt ACI from Customs duty payments on the 
foreign components used in export production. On its domestic sales and 
exports to NAFTA markets, the company would be able to choose the duty 
rates that apply to ATV engines and snowmobiles (duty free, 2.5%) for 
the foreign-sourced components noted above. The application indicates 
that subzone status would help improve the facilities' international 
competitiveness.
    In accordance with the Board's regulations, a member of the FTZ 
Staff

[[Page 71780]]

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--
4100W, 1099 14th Street, NW., Washington, DC 20005; or,
    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 8, 2005. Rebuttal 
comments in response to material submitted during the foregoing period 
may be submitted during the subsequent 15-day period (to February 23, 
2005).
    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 and at the Office of the Port Director, U.S. 
Customs and Border Protection, 112 W. Stutsman Street, Pembina, North 
Dakota 58271.

    Dated: December 3, 2004.
Dennis Puccinelli,
Executive Secretary.
[FR Doc. 04-27183 Filed 12-9-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P