[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 17 (Thursday, January 26, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4006-4007]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-1686]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Foreign-Trade Zones Board

[Docket 07-2012]


Foreign-Trade Zone 45--Portland, Oregon; Expansion of 
Manufacturing Authority; Epson Portland, Inc. (Inkjet Ink 
Manufacturing); Portland, OR

    An application has been submitted to the Foreign-Trade Zones Board 
(the Board) by the Port of Portland, grantee of FTZ 45, requesting an 
expansion of the scope of manufacturing authority approved within 
Subzone 45F, on behalf of Epson Portland, Inc. (EPI), Hillsboro, 
Oregon. 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 
January 19, 2012.
    Subzone 45F was approved by the Board in 2005 at the EPI plant 
(16.6 acres) located at 3950 NW Aloclek Place, Hillsboro, Oregon (Board 
Order 1406, 70 FR 55106, 9/20/2005). Activity at the facility (450 
employees) includes manufacturing (injection molding, assembly, 
finishing), warehousing and distribution of inkjet printer cartridges.
    The current request involves the production of ink for inkjet 
printer cartridges using foreign and domestic inputs, activity which 
the applicant is now requesting to conduct under zone procedures. 
Current production capacity is 9,000 barrels (210 kg per barrel) of ink 
per year. The finished product would be either inkjet ink (duty rate--
1.8%) or inkjet printer cartridges (duty-free). New material inputs 
sourced from abroad

[[Page 4007]]

(representing 75% of the value of the finished inkjet ink) include 
potassium hydroxide, surfactants, 1,2 hexanediol, Tri-isoproanolamine, 
solvents, glycerin, triethylene glycol monobutyl ether, triethylene 
glycol, adipic acid, emulsifiers, disodium salt dihydrate, printing ink 
colorants (black, cyan, brown, orange, violet, red green, magenta and 
other), de-foamers, solublizers, and biocides (duty rates range from 
duty-free to 6.5%). The scope otherwise would remain unchanged.
    FTZ procedures could exempt EPI from customs duty payments on the 
additional foreign components used in export production. The company 
anticipates that some 55 percent of the plant's shipments will be 
exported, either as finished inkjet ink or in inkjet cartridges. On its 
domestic sales, EPI would be able to choose the duty rates during 
customs entry procedures that apply to inkjet ink (duty rate--1.8%) or 
inkjet printer cartridges (duty-free) for the additional foreign inputs 
noted above. EPI would also be exempt from duty payments on foreign 
materials that become scrap or waste during the production process. The 
request indicates that the additional savings from FTZ procedures would 
help improve the plant's international competitiveness.
    In accordance with the Board's regulations, Diane Finver of the FTZ 
Staff is designated examiner to evaluate and analyze the facts and 
information presented in the application and case record and to report 
findings and recommendations to the Board.
    Public comment is invited from interested parties. Submissions 
(original and 3 copies) shall be addressed to the Board's Executive 
Secretary at the address below. The closing period for their receipt is 
March 26, 2012. Rebuttal comments in response to material submitted 
during the foregoing period may be submitted during the subsequent 15-
day period to April 10, 2012.
    A copy of the application will be available for public inspection 
at the Office of the Executive Secretary, Foreign-Trade Zones Board, 
Room 2111, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue NW, 
Washington, DC 20230-0002, and in the ``Reading Room'' section of the 
Board's Web site, which is accessible via www.trade.gov/ftz.
    For further information, contact Diane Finver at 
[email protected] (202) 482-1367.

    Dated: January 20, 2012.
Andrew McGilvray,
Executive Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2012-1686 Filed 1-25-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P