Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1954-04-07

The complaints come to him.
States firms or those from for
eign countries.
The zones are free of quota
restrictions. Thus. material
under quota can be shipped in,
stored, and held until new quotas
go into effect. The merchant
who quotas goods stored and
ready for sale has an advantage.
The work of Mr.. Marrone and
Mr.. Lyons becomes significant in
light of President Eisenhower's
trade message to Congress.
1.-THE national interest in the
field Of economic foreign policy
is clear" he told the Congress.
at is to obtain, in a manner con-
sistent with out national security
and profitable and equitable for
all. the highest possible level of
trade and the most efficient use
of capital and resource. That
this would also. strengthen our
military allies adds urgency"
The Foreign Trade Zones
Board actually is made up of
Commerce Secretary Weeks,
chairman, and Treasury Secre-
tary Humphrey and Defense Sec
rotary Wilson. But each is per-
mitted to appoint an alternate,
and each has.
Assistant Commerce Secretary
Sam w Anderson serves for
Commerce, Assistant Treasury
Secretary H. Chapman Rose for
Treasury and Col. F. H. Falkner
for Defense. These men meet
when there's enough business for
them to consider.
In appointing Mr.. Marrone
last December, Mr.. Weeks de-
clared:
Creation Of this new staff
post reflects the increasing
attention which the Commerce
Department Is giving to foreign
trade"
Long i'm Foreign Trade.
Mr.. Marrone has had wide ex-
perience in foreign trade mat
tiers. In 1927, Secretary of Com
merce Hoover named him a spe-
cial trade commissioner in the
Mediterranean area. Later, he
was assistant commercial attache
for Europe, North Africa and the
Far East.
In May, 1898. he resigned to
become a foreign trade con-
sultant and in 1914 re-entered
the banking field. He is from
Clinton, N. Y.
The type of operation he
superviseS dates back to 1889.
when Frederick I, emperor of
the Holy Roman Empire. granted
charter to Hamburg. The
charter exempted the city from
the payment Of customs on the
lower Elbe River. It was act
ually a ''free port" as contrasted
to the zone concept.
There are few wholly free"
ports left today. Mostly. the
free areas are zones within the
seaports. These have full load
ing. handling. storage and re-
shipment facilities.
Although the goods that come
into these United States zones
are free from customs and the
requirement of storage in bonded
warehouses, the usual regula-
lions on shipping. port dues,
public health. postal service and
immigration apply.
Because of budget limitations
in the Foreign-Trade Zones
Board, on-the-spot supervision
is done by the Customs DEPART
ment. The zones, like the big
ports themselves, operate as pub
lie utilities. financed and run by
private business.
Act Encourages Expansion.
The optimism about expan-
sion stems from an amendment
to the Celler Act. passed four
years ago. This amendment
permits manufacture and ex-
hibit within the trade zones,
and clarifies the confusion
which existed before about
manipulation"
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS, as
sembling. etc.-was permitted
under the original Celler Act,
but it was difficult to determine
where manipulation left of and
manufacture began.
The amendment made it clear
that manufacture would be al
lowed in the trade zones. It
also provided for exhibition OF
! wares to prospective customers
within the zones.
n