Foreign-Trade Zone 172Oneida County, NY; Application for Subzone Oneida Ltd. (Tableware) Sherrill and Oneida, NY

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Foreign-Trade Zones Board

[Docket 23-94]

Foreign-Trade Zone 172--Oneida County, NY; Application for

Subzone Oneida Ltd. (Tableware) Sherrill and Oneida, NY

An application has been submitted to the Foreign-Trade Zones Board

(the Board) by the County of Oneida, New York, grantee of FTZ 172,

requesting special-purpose subzone status for the manufacturing

facilities of Oneida Ltd. in Sherrill and Oneida, New York. 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 June 7, 1994.

The Oneida facilities involve three sites in Sherrill (Oneida

County) and Oneida (Madison County), New York: Site 1 (116 acres)--Main

Plant, East Seneca Street and Route 5, Sherrill; Site 2 (63 acres)--

Knife Plant, Kenwood Avenue, Sherrill; and Site 3 (0.5 acres)--

warehouse facility (D.J. Warehouse), Wilson Street, Oneida. The

facilities (2500 employees) are used to manufacture a full line of

stainless steel, silverplated and sterling silver flatware (knives,

forks and spoons) as well as certain hollowware (tea services, bowls,

trays, cups). The facilities are also used to warehouse/package/

distribute porcelain, chinaware, crystal and miscellaneous giftware.

Certain finished and semi-finished items, accounting for up to 15

percent of sales, are sourced from abroad to fill out product lines.

(Stainless steel mill products are sourced domestically.) Oneida is

requesting to use zone procedures only for silverplating of foreign-

sourced stainless steel tableware and for warehousing and packaging of

finished products.

Zone procedures would exempt Oneida from Customs duty payments on

foreign items that are exported. On domestic sales, the company would

be able to choose the duty rates that apply to the finished

silverplated products (4.5 to 6.0%). The duty rates on foreign-sourced

stainless steel tableware items used in the silverplating activity

range from 6 to 17 percent. 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 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

August 15, 1994. Rebuttal comments in response to material submitted

during the foregoing period may be submitted during the subsequent 15-

day period (to Tuesday, August 30, 1994).

A copy of the application and accompanying exhibits will be

available for public inspection at each of the following locations:

Office of the Port Director, U.S. Customs Service, Syracuse Hancock

International Airport, Air Cargo Building, P.O. Box 7256, Syracuse, NY

13261

Office of the Executive Secretary, Foreign-Trade Zones Board, U.S.

Department of Commerce, room 3716, 14th & Pennsylvania Avenue, NW.,

Washington, DC 20230

Dated: June 7, 1994.

John J. Da Ponte, Jr.,

Executive Secretary.

[FR Doc. 94-14622 Filed 6-15-94; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510-25-P