[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 86 (Thursday, May 4, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Page 26321]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-6764]



[[Page 26321]]

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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Foreign-Trade Zones Board

[Docket 15-2006]


Foreign-Trade Zone 144--Brunswick, GA; Application For Foreign-
Trade Subzone Status; E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, Inc. (Crop 
Protection Products); Valdosta, GA Area

    An application has been submitted to the Foreign-Trade Zones Board 
(the Board) by Brunswick Foreign-Trade Zone, Inc., grantee of FTZ 144, 
requesting special-purpose subzone status for the manufacturing 
facilities (crop protection products) of E.I. du Pont de Nemours and 
Company, Inc. (DuPont), located in the Valdosta, Georgia area. 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 April 27, 2006.
    The facilities for which subzone status is proposed are located at 
three sites in the Valdosta, Georgia area (223.68 acres total; up to 
516,253 sq. ft. of enclosed space): Site  1 (220 acres; 
156,253 sq. ft. of enclosed space with possibility of creation of 
additional 200,000 sq. ft.) located at 2509 Rocky Ford Road in Lowndes 
County, Georgia; Site  2 (2.3 acres; 100,000 sq. ft. of 
enclosed space) located at 1560 Old Clyattsville Road in Valdosta; and 
Site  3 (1.38 acres; 60,000 sq. ft. of enclosed space) located 
at 1653 and 1669 Clay Road in Valdosta.
    DuPont is seeking subzone authority to manufacture, test, package 
and warehouse crop protection products. The company initially plans to 
manufacture certain fungicides (Manex), herbicides (Direx FP), plant 
growth regulators (CottonQuik), and insecticides (Avaunt/Steward) under 
FTZ procedures using imported ``technical'' ingredients. Duty rates on 
the finished products range from duty-free to 6.5% ad valorem while 
duty rates on the ingredients range from 3.7% to 6.5%. The application 
also requests authority to include a broad range of inputs, primarily 
categorized as organic chemicals, for potential future use in 
manufacture of finished crop protection products. (New major activity 
in these inputs/products would require review by the FTZ Board.) Duty 
rates for the potential input-material categories range from duty-free 
to 7.2% ad valorem while the potential finished products have duty 
rates ranging from duty-free to 6.5%.
    Zone procedures would exempt DuPont from Customs duty payments on 
foreign inputs used in export production. On its domestic shipments, 
DuPont could apply to foreign inputs lower duty rates that apply to the 
finished products, where applicable, and would also be able to defer 
duty payments. DuPont would be able to avoid duty on foreign inputs 
which become scrap/waste, estimated at less than one percent of 
imported inputs. The application also indicates that the company will 
derive savings from simplification and expediting of the company's 
import and export procedures and from transfer of foreign-status 
merchandise to other FTZs or subzones. All of the above-cited savings 
from zone procedures could help improve the plant's international 
competitiveness.
    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 is invited from interested parties. Submissions 
(original and 3 copies) shall be addressed to the Board's Executive 
Secretary at the address below. The closing period for their receipt is 
July 3, 2006. Rebuttal comments in response to material submitted 
during the foregoing period may be submitted during the subsequent 15-
day period to July 18, 2006.
    A copy of the application and accompanying exhibits will be 
available for public inspection at each of the following locations:

U.S. Department of Commerce Export Assistance Center, 325 John Knox 
Road, The Atrium Building, Suite 201, Tallahassee, FL 32303.
Office of the Executive Secretary, Foreign-Trade Zones Board, U.S. 
Department of Commerce, Room 1115, 1401 Constitution Ave., NW., 
Washington, DC 20230.

    Dated: April 27, 2006.
Dennis Puccinelli,
Executive Secretary.
 [FR Doc. E6-6764 Filed 5-3-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P