[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 11 (Friday, January 16, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Page 2660]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-1161]
[[Page 2660]]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Foreign-Trade Zones Board
[Docket 84-97]
Foreign-Trade Zone 136--Brevard County, FL; Application for
Foreign-Trade Subzone Status Harris Corporation--Electronic Systems
Sector (Telecommunication/Information Systems), Brevard County, FL
An application has been submitted to the Foreign-Trade Zones Board
(the Board) by the Canaveral Port Authority, grantee of FTZ 136,
requesting special-purpose subzone status for the manufacturing
facilities (telecommunication/information systems) of the Electronic
Systems Sector (ESS) business unit of Harris Corporation, located at
sites in Brevard County, Florida. 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 December 22, 1997.
The Harris ESS facilities are located at four sites in Brevard
County, Florida (388 acres, 1.9 million sq. ft.): Site 1 (44 buildings/
1.9 million square feet on 181 acres)--located at 2400 NE Palm Bay
Road, Palm Bay; Site 2 (4 buildings/315,000 sq. ft. on 50 acres)--
located at 150 S. Wickham Road, Melbourne; Site 3 (2 buildings/114,000
sq. ft. on 30 acres)--located at 505 N. John Rodes Blvd., West
Melbourne; and Site 4 (3 buildings/215 sq. ft. on 127 acres)--located
at 2800 Jordan Boulevard, Malabar.
The facilities (6,200 employees) are used for the development and
manufacture of telecommunication and information systems products and
related software for defense, aerospace, transportation and energy
management, meteorology and publishing. Applications include digital
maps, cockpit controls and displays, antennas, land and satellite
communications terminals and networks, satellite antenna testing,
electronic warfare and evaluation systems, global positioning control
systems, signal and imaging processing, weather support systems, civil
and military air traffic control systems, integrated airport
communication and management systems, and information processing
systems for publishing. Some of the components used in the
manufacturing process are purchased from abroad (an estimated 10-15% of
finished product value), including power supplies, mobile data
terminals, optical switch modules, transmission apparatus, printed
circuits, connectors, optical instruments and appliances, testing
equipment, audio-frequency electrical amplifiers, static connectors,
electronic parts and equipment, and antennae reflectors (duty rates
range from duty-free to 8.5%; weighted average--3.4%).
Zone procedures would exempt Harris from Customs duty payments on
foreign components used in export production. On its domestic sales,
Harris would be able to choose the lower duty rate that applies to the
finished products (duty-free to 6.0%; weighted average--2.5%) for the
foreign components noted above. FTZ procedures will also help Harris
ESS to implement a more cost-effective system for handling Customs
requirements (including reduced brokerage fees and Customs merchandise
processing fees). FTZ status may also make a site eligible for benefits
provided under state/local programs. 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 March 17, 1998. Rebuttal comments in
response to material submitted during the foregoing period may be
submitted during the subsequent 15-day period to April 1, 1998. 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, 200 E. Robinson
St., Suite 1270, Orlando, Florida 32801
Dated: December 23,1997.
Dennis Puccinelli,
Acting Executive Secretary.
[FR Doc. 98-1161 Filed 1-15-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P
