FTZ Board Receives Application for Sub-Zone in FTZ #119
November 19, 2009An application has been submitted to the Foreign-Trade Zones (FTZ) Board (the Board) by the Greater Metropolitan Area Foreign Trade Zone Commission of Minneapolis, Minn., grantee of FTZ #119, requesting special-purpose sub-zone status for the photo-electronic industrial sensor manufacturing facility of SICK, Inc. (SICK), located in Bloomington, Minn. The application was formally filed on November 10, 2009.
The SICK facility is located at 6900 West 110th Street, Bloomington (Hennepin County), Minn. The facility is used to manufacture and distribute photo-electronic industrial automation sensors, safety systems, and automatic identification products (classified under HTSUS 8541.40) for the U.S. market and export. At full capacity the plant can manufacture up to 50,000 units annually. Activity under FTZ procedures would include manufacturing, testing, inspection, and packaging. Components to be purchased from abroad (representing about 30% of the value of the finished sensors) would include plates/sheets/film/foil of polycarbonates, fasteners, parts of circuit breakers, and electrical conductors (duty rate range: 2.6–8.5%). The application indicates that SICK would also admit foreign-origin photo-electronic sensors and related components to the proposed sub-zone for domestic distribution and export.
FTZ procedures could exempt SICK from customs duty payments on the foreign components used in export production. On domestic shipments, the company would be able to elect the duty rate that applies to finished photo-electronic sensors (free) for the foreign inputs noted above. Sub-zone status would further allow SICK to realize logistical benefits through the use of weekly customs entry procedures. Customs duties could possibly be deferred or reduced on foreign status production equipment. The application indicates that the savings from FTZ procedures would help improve the facility’s international competitiveness.
Pierre Duy of the FTZ staff has been 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) should be addressed to the board’s executive secretary at the Office of the Executive Secretary, Room 2111, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20230-0002. The closing period for receipt of comments is January 19, 2010. Rebuttal comments in response to material submitted during the foregoing period may be submitted during the subsequent 15-day period to February 1, 2010.
For further information, contact: Pierre Duy; phone: (202) 482-1378, e-mail: Pierre.Duy@trade.gov.
