[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 148 (Wednesday, August 1, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45575-45576]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-18806]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Foreign-Trade Zones Board

[B-54-2012]


Foreign-Trade Zone 143--West Sacramento, CA

    Application for Extended Production Authority; Subzone 143D, Grafil 
Inc. (Carbon Fiber Production); Sacramento, California
    An application has been submitted to the Foreign-Trade Zones Board 
(the Board) by Grafil Inc. (Grafil), operator of Subzone 143D, 
requesting to extend production authority at its facilities located in 
Sacramento, California. The application conforming to the requirements 
of the regulations of the Board (15 CFR 400.23) was docketed on July 
26, 2012.
    Subzone 143D was approved by the Board in 2009 at two Grafil 
facilities located in Sacramento, California (Board Order 1620, 74 FR 
24798, 5/26/2009). Activity at the facilities (110 employees) includes 
the production, warehousing and distribution of carbon fiber using 
polyacrylonitrile (PAN) precursor.
    Grafil's subzone and production authority were approved for a 
period of five years, until May 7, 2014 (Board Order 1620, May 7, 2009; 
74 FR 24798, 5/26/2009). The current application is requesting to 
extend the FTZ production authority indefinitely. Grafil sources PAN 
precursor (duty rates, 7.5% or 8%) from abroad (representing 35% of the 
value of the finished product).
    Production under FTZ procedures could exempt Grafil from customs 
duty payments on the foreign PAN precursor used in export production. 
The company anticipates that some 45 percent of the plant's shipments 
will be exported. On its domestic sales, Grafil would be able to choose 
the duty rate during customs entry procedures that apply to carbon 
fiber (duty free) for the foreign PAN precursor. Customs duties also 
could possibly be deferred or reduced on foreign status production 
equipment. The request indicates that the savings from FTZ procedures 
would help improve the plant's international competitiveness.
    In accordance with the Board's regulations, Diane Finver of the FTZ 
Staff is designated examiner to evaluate and analyze the facts and 
information presented in the application and case

[[Page 45576]]

record and to report findings and recommendations to the Board.
    Public comment is invited from interested parties. Submissions 
shall be addressed to the Board's Executive Secretary at the address 
below. The closing period for their receipt is October 1, 2012. 
Rebuttal comments in response to material submitted during the 
foregoing period may be submitted during the subsequent 15-day period 
to October 15, 2012.
    A copy of the application 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 www.trade.gov/ftz.
    For further information, contact Diane Finver at 
[email protected] or (202) 482-1367.

    Dated: July 26, 2012.
Andrew McGilvray,
Executive Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2012-18806 Filed 7-31-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P