[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 23 (Thursday, February 3, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Page 5308]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-2293]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Foreign-Trade Zones Board

[Docket 2-2000]


Foreign-Trade Zone 193-Pinellas County, FL; Application For 
Foreign-Trade Subzone Status; RP Scherer Corporation (Gelatin 
Capsules), Pinellas County, FL

    An application has been submitted to the Foreign-Trade Zones Board 
(the Board) by the Pinellas County Board of County Commissioners, 
grantee of FTZ 193, requesting special-purpose subzone status for the 
gelatin capsule manufacturing facilities of RP Scherer Corporation (RP 
Scherer), a subsidiary of Cardinal Health, Inc., located in the St. 
Petersburg/Clearwater area, Pinellas County, Florida. The application 
was submitted pursuant to 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 January 20, 2000.
    The RP Scherer facilities (42.1 acres) are located at 4 sites in 
the St. Petersburg/Clearwater area (Pinellas County), Florida: Site 1 
(3 buildings, 348,093 mfg. sq. ft. on 32.2 acres)''--main manufacturing 
plant, located at 2725 Scherer, St. Petersburg; Site 2 (1 building, 
48,400 mfg. sq. ft. on 2.2 acres,)--manufacturing plant #2 (leased from 
Danielson, Ltd.), located at 11286 47th Street North, Clearwater; Site 
3 (1 building, 63,000 mfg. sq. ft. on 3.3 acres,)--manufacturing plant 
#3 (leased from First Group, Inc.), located at 11399 47th Street North, 
Clearwater, and Site 4 (23,140 sq. ft.)--warehouse facility (leased 
from Ft. Lauderdale-Staples, L.L.C.), located at 10990 US 19, 
Clearwater. The facilities (754 employees) are used for the manufacture 
of soft gelatin capsules for pharmaceutical, nutritional, cosmetic, and 
recreational products. RP Scherer encapsulates the products in gelatin 
capsule form and returns them to client companies for packaging and 
distribution. The company purchases raw gelatin from abroad. At this 
time, the company is only requesting to use zone procedures for the 
encapsulation of pharmaceutical and nutritional products.
    FTZ procedures would enable the company to choose the lower duty 
rate that applies to the finished pharmaceutical and nutritional 
products (HTSUS headings 3003, 3004, 3006--duty-free), instead of the 
duty rate that would otherwise apply to foreign gelatin (HTSUS 
3503.00.55, duty rate--3.8% + 2.8 cents/kg). The application indicates 
that the savings from zone procedures would help improve the 
international competitiveness of the RP Scherer plant and of the U.S. 
pharmaceutical plants that use this service.
    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 on the application is invited from interested 
parties. Submissions (original and three copies) shall be addressed to 
the Board's Executive Secretary at the address below. The closing 
period for their receipt is April 3, 2000. Rebuttal comments in 
response to material submitted during the foregoing period may be 
submitted during the subsequent 15-day period to April 18, 2000.
    A copy of the application and the accompanying exhibits will be 
available for public inspection at each of the following locations:

Office of the Executive Secretary, Foreign-Trade Zones Board, U.S. 
Department of Commerce, Room 4008, 14th and Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., 
Washington, D.C. 20230
U.S. Department of Commerce Export Assistance Center, 1130 Cleveland 
St., Clearwater, Florida 34615

    Dated: January 20, 2000.
Dennis Puccinelli,
Acting Executive Secretary.
[FR Doc. 00-2293 Filed 2-2-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P