[Federal Register: November 8, 1999 (Volume 64, Number 215)]
[Notices]               
[Page 60766]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr08no99-42]                         

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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Foreign-Trade Zones Board
[Docket No. 50-99]

 
Foreign-Trade Zone 77--Memphis, TN, Expansion of Manufacturing 
Authority--Subzone 77B Brother Industries (U.S.A.) Inc., (Postage 
Franking Machines and Electronic Business Equipment), Shelby County, 
Tennessee

    An application has been submitted to the Foreign-Trade Zones Board 
(the Board) by the City of Memphis, Tennessee, grantee of FTZ 77, 
requesting on behalf of Brother Industries (U.S.A.) Inc. (Brother), to 
expand the scope of manufacturing authority under zone procedures 
within Subzone 77B, at the Brother plant in Shelby County, Tennessee. 
The application was submitted pursuant to 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 October 18, 1999.
    Subzone 77D was approved by the Board in 1995 at two sites in 
Bartlett, Tennessee (Shelby County): Site 1--a 25-acre manufacturing 
facility at Brother Boulevard and Highway 64, and Site 2--a 20-acre 
warehouse facility at 3141 Appling Road, with authority granted for the 
manufacture of electric and automatic typewriters and word processors 
(Board Order 774, 60 FR 48100, 9/18/95).
    Brother is now proposing to expand the scope of manufacturing 
activity conducted under zone procedures at Subzone 77B to include 
postage franking machines and electronic business equipment. At the 
outset, the company is expecting to manufacture postage franking 
machines (HTSUS 8470.90--duty-free). Brother is also requesting to 
include in its scope of authority other electronic business equipment 
that it may produce in the future, including computer printers, 
facsimile machines, multifunction printer/facsimile/copier machines, 
labeling and barcode printers, and printer supplies. Foreign-sourced 
materials may include the following items: ink cartridge assemblies, 
printing ink, polyacetals and epoxide resins, plastic tubes, hoses and 
fittings, rubber and plastic self-adhesive film, friction tape, 
transmission belts, paper pulp filter blocks, screws, washers, bolts, 
springs, parts and accessories of calculators, cash registers and 
postage franking machines, electromechanical devices with self-
contained motors, computer subassemblies and parts, ball or roller 
bearings, transmission shafts, electric motors and generators, 
transformers, adaptors, capacitors, resistors, printed circuit boards 
(PCBs), PCB shield plates, printed wiring boards, surge arrestors, 
electrical switching equipment, semiconductor devices, integrated 
circuits, insulated wire and cable, wire and cable fittings, and liquid 
crystal devices. Foreign-sourced materials will account for, on 
average, 50 percent of the postage franking machine's value.
    FTZ procedures would exempt Brother from Customs duty payments on 
foreign components used in export production (some 10% of production). 
On its domestic sales, Brother would be able to choose the lower duty 
rate (duty-free to 8.7%, mostly duty-free) that applies to the finished 
products for the foreign components noted above (duty-free to 12.5%, 
weighted average for postage franking machines is 1.3%). FTZ procedures 
will also help Brother implement a more cost-effective system for 
handling Customs requirements (including weekly entry filings, reduced 
brokerage fees and Customs merchandise processing fees). The 
application indicates that the savings from zone procedures would help 
improve the 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 address below. The closing 
period for their receipt is January 7, 2000. Rebuttal comments in 
response to material submitted during the foregoing period may be 
submitted during the subsequent 15-day period to January 24, 2000.
    A copy of the application and the accompanying exhibits will be 
available for public inspection at each of the following locations:

Office of the Executive Secretary, Foreign-Trade Zones Board, U.S. 
Department of Commerce, Room 3716, 14th and Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., 
Washington, DC 20230.
U.S. Department of Commerce, Export Assistance Center, Buckman Hall, 
650 East Parkway South, Suite 348, Memphis, Tennessee 38104.

    Dated: October 27, 1999.
Dennis Puccinelli,
Acting Executive Secretary.
[FR Doc. 99-29201 Filed 11-5-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P