Tech-giant Apple announced that it is looking for federal approval to produce certain product components in Mesa. The notice, filed in the Federal Register, is looking for approval from the Foreign-Trade Zones Board to produce what the company calls a series of “finished products.”
The Mesa Office of Economic Development has submitted the request to the board on behalf of Apple.
If accepted, the Mesa zone will be exempt from customs duty payments. Apple already has authority to produce certain components for consumer electronics.
The current request would add finished products and foreign status materials to that list. Apple would be able to apply the status to domestic goods that use materials from abroad like plastic bags, boxes, fan blades and lithium batteries.
Apple originally submitted the request in June 2016.
