[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 27 (Wednesday, February 11, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6856-6857]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-2933]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Foreign-Trade Zones Board

[Docket 4-2009]


Foreign-Trade Zone 271 Jo-Daviess and Carroll Counties, IL, 
Application for Subzone Status, Danisco U.S.A., Inc., Sweeteners 
Division, (Xylitol, Xylose and Mannose)

    An application has been submitted to the Foreign-Trade Zones Board 
(the Board) by the Jo- Carroll Foreign Trade Zone Board, grantee of FTZ 
271, requesting special-purpose subzone status for the xylitol, xylose, 
and mannose manufacturing plant of Danisco U.S.A., Inc., Sweeteners 
Division (Danisco), located in Thomson, Illinois. The application was 
submitted pursuant to the provisions of 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 February 4, 2009.
    The Danisco facility (80 employees/154 acres/120,000 sq.ft.) is 
located at 10994 Three Mile Road (Carroll County), Illinois. The plant 
is used to produce xylitol (nutritive sweetener), xylose (xylitol 
precursor) and mannose (dietary supplement) (annual production 
capacity: 12,000, 9,500 and 50 tons, respectively) for export and the 
domestic market. The manufacturing process involves filtration, 
separation, evaporation, hydrogenation and crystallization using 
domestic and foreign material inputs. Materials that would be purchased 
from abroad (representing about 20% of finished product value) include: 
xylose (crystalline, ML), l-arabinose, galactose, mannose, rhamnose, 
separation resins (i.e., processing aids), and clamping bands (duty 
rate range: free 5.8%).
    FTZ procedures would exempt Danisco from customs duty payments on 
the foreign materials used in export production (about 50% of annual 
shipments). On domestic shipments, the company could be able to elect 
the duty rate that applies to finished xylitol and D-Mannose (duty 
free) for the foreign material inputs noted above. The application 
indicates that the savings from FTZ procedures would help improve the 
facility's international competitiveness.
    In accordance with the Board's regulations, Pierre Duy of the FTZ 
Staff is 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 following address: Office of the

[[Page 6857]]

Executive Secretary, Room 2111, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 
Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20230-0002. The closing period 
for receipt of comments is April 13, 2009. Rebuttal comments in 
response to material submitted during the foregoing period may be 
submitted during the subsequent 15-day period to April 27, 2009.
    A copy of the application will be available for public inspection 
at the Office of the Foreign-Trade Zones Board's Executive Secretary at 
the address listed above and in the ``Reading Room'' section of the 
Board's website, which is accessible via www.trade.gov/ftz. For further 
information, contact Pierre Duy at: [email protected], or (202) 
482-1378.

    Dated: February 4, 2009.
Andrew McGilvray,
Executive Secretary.
[FR Doc. E9-2933 Filed 2-10-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-S