[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 95 (Tuesday, May 19, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Page 23394]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-11671]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Foreign-Trade Zones Board

[Docket 21-2009]


Foreign-Trade Zone 124--Gramercy, LA, Application for Subzone, 
Excalibar Minerals LLC (Barite Milling), New Iberia, LA

    An application has been submitted to the Foreign-Trade Zones Board 
(the Board) by the Port of South Louisiana, grantee of Foreign-Trade 
Zone (FTZ) 124, requesting special-purpose subzone status for the 
barite milling facility of Excalibar Minerals LLC (Excalibar), located 
in New Iberia, Louisiana. 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 May 6, 2009.
    The Excalibar facility (20 employees, 16 acres, 350,000 ton 
capacity for ground barite) is located at 4602 South Lewis Street, in 
New Iberia. The facility is used for activities related to the milling 
(heating, grinding, crushing), storage and distribution of ground 
barite, primarily for the U.S. market. The material that would be 
purchased from abroad (representing approximately 75 to 85 percent of 
the finished product's value) is raw barite (HTSUS number 2511.10), 
dutiable at $1.25 per metric ton.
    FTZ procedures could exempt the company from customs duty payments 
on the foreign component used in export production. The company 
anticipates that less than 1 percent of the plant's shipments will be 
exported. On its domestic sales, Excalibar would be able to choose the 
duty rate during customs entry procedures that applies to the ground 
barite (duty-free) for the foreign input noted above. FTZ designation 
would further allow Excalibar to realize logistical benefits through 
the use of weekly customs entry procedures, as well as savings from the 
elimination of duties on materials that become scrap/waste during 
manufacturing. The application indicates that the FTZ-related savings 
would help improve the facility's international competitiveness.
    In accordance with the Board's regulations, Christopher Kemp 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 address listed below. The closing period for their 
receipt is July 20, 2009. Rebuttal comments in response to material 
submitted during the foregoing period may be submitted during the 
subsequent 15-day period (to August 3, 2009).
    A copy of the application and accompanying exhibits will be 
available for public inspection at the Office of the Executive 
Secretary, Foreign-Trade Zones Board, Room 2111, U.S. Department of 
Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20230-0002, and 
in the ``Reading Room'' section of the Board's Web site, which is 
accessible via http://www.trade.gov/ftz. For further information, 
contact Christopher Kemp at [email protected] or (202) 482-
0862.

    Dated: May 6, 2009.
Andrew McGilvray,
Executive Secretary.
[FR Doc. E9-11671 Filed 5-18-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE P