Establishment of a Foreign-Trade Zone Under the Alternative Site Framework in Western North Carolina

Pursuant to its authority under the Foreign-Trade Zones Act of June 18, 1934, as amended (19 U.S.C. 81a–81u), the Foreign-Trade Zones Board (the Board) adopts the following Order:

Whereas, the Foreign-Trade Zones (FTZ) Act provides for “. . . the establishment . . . of foreign-trade zones in ports of entry of the United States, to expedite and encourage foreign commerce, and for other purposes,” and authorizes the Foreign-Trade Zones Board to grant to qualified corporations the privilege of establishing foreign-trade zones in or adjacent to U.S. Customs and Border Protection ports of entry;

Whereas, the Board adopted the alternative site framework (ASF) (15 CFR 400.2(c)) as an option for the establishment or reorganization of zones;

Whereas, the Land of Sky Regional Council (the Grantee), a state agency, made application to the Board (B–36–2022, docketed August 17, 2022 and amended January 6, 2023) requesting the establishment of a foreign-trade zone under the ASF with a service area of Henderson County as well as portions of Buncombe, Haywood, Jackson and Transylvania Counties, North Carolina, adjacent to the Greenville-Spartanburg U.S. Customs and Border Protection port of entry, and proposed Subzone 301A would be categorized as an ASF subzone;

Whereas, notice inviting public comment was given in the Federal Register (87 FR 51651–51652, August 23, 2022) and the amended application was processed pursuant to the FTZ Act and the Board's regulations; and,

Whereas, the Board adopted the findings and recommendations of the examiners' report, and found that the requirements of the FTZ Act and the Board's regulations are satisfied;

Therefore, on June 12, 2023, the Board granted to the Grantee the privilege of establishing a foreign-trade zone, designated on the records of the Board as Foreign-Trade Zone No. 301, as described in the application, and subject to the FTZ Act and the Board's regulations, including Section 400.13, to the Board's standard 2,000-acre activation limit, and to an ASF sunset provision for subzones that would terminate authority for Subzone 301A if no foreign non-duty paid merchandise is admitted to the subzone for a bona fide customs purpose three years from the month of approval.