[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 79 (Tuesday, April 24, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17790-17791]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-08464]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Foreign-Trade Zones Board

[B-26-2018]


Foreign-Trade Zone (FTZ) 38--Spartanburg, South Carolina; 
Notification of Proposed Production Activity; AFL Telecommunications, 
LLC, (Optical Cable for Data Transfer), Duncan, South Carolina

    AFL Telecommunications, LLC (AFL) submitted a notification of 
proposed production activity to the FTZ Board for its facility in 
Duncan, South Carolina. The notification conforming to the requirements 
of the regulations of the FTZ Board (15 CFR 400.22) was received on 
April 11, 2018.
    AFL indicates that it will be submitting a separate subzone 
application for FTZ designation at its facility under FTZ 38. The 
facility will be used for the production of optical cables for data 
transfer. Pursuant to 15 CFR 400.14(b), FTZ activity would be limited 
to the specific foreign-status materials and components and specific 
finished products described in the submitted notification (as described 
below) and subsequently authorized by the FTZ Board.
    Production under FTZ procedures could exempt AFL from customs duty 
payments on the foreign-status components used in export production. On 
its domestic sales, for the foreign-status materials/components noted 
below, AFL would be able to choose the duty rates during customs entry 
procedures that apply to optical cables for data transfer (duty-free). 
AFL would be able to avoid duty on foreign-status components which 
become scrap/waste. Customs duties also could possibly be deferred or 
reduced on foreign-status production equipment.
    The components and materials sourced from abroad include: Grease; 
silicon carbide grit; buffering gel; thixotropic gels of oil and 
silica; color chips; ink; glue; plastic jacketing compound; epoxy; 
silicone; acrylic plastic central strength member; plastic filler rod; 
mylar tape; plastic furcation tubing; jacket additive of polymerized 
plastic; aramid yarn; ripcord; binder string; water swellable yarn; 
water block tape; filler rod of fiberglass reinforced plastic; 
fiberglass reinforced plastic; tape or fiberglass yarn; copper clad 
steel

[[Page 17791]]

wire; stainless steel tape; stainless steel wire; galvanized steel 
stranded wire; copper wire; bare stranded copper wire; aluminum alloy 
wire; aluminum tape; aluminum alloy rod; insulated copper wire; drawn 
optical glass in reel form; and, drawn optical glass bundles in reel 
form (duty rate ranges from duty-free to 8.8%, and $0.013/kg + 5.7%). 
The request indicates that aramid yarn, ripcord, binder string, and 
water swellable yarn will be admitted to the zone in privileged foreign 
status (19 CFR 146.41), thereby precluding inverted tariff benefits on 
such items.
    Public comment is invited from interested parties. Submissions 
shall be addressed to the Board's Executive Secretary at the address 
below. The closing period for their receipt is June 4, 2018.
    A copy of the notification will be available for public inspection 
at the Office of the Executive Secretary, Foreign-Trade Zones Board, 
Room 21013, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue NW, 
Washington, DC 20230-0002, and in the ``Reading Room'' section of the 
Board's website, which is accessible via www.trade.gov/ftz.
    For further information, contact Juanita Chen at 
[email protected] or 202-482-1378.

    Dated: April 17, 2018.
Andrew McGilvray,
Executive Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2018-08464 Filed 4-23-18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P