[Federal Register: May 25, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 100)]
[Notices]              
[Page 30080-30081]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr25my05-59]                        

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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Foreign-Trade Zones Board

[Docket 23-2005]

Foreign-Trade Zone 7 Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, Application for
Subzone, Abbott Laboratories (Pharmaceutical Products), Barceloneta,
Puerto Rico

    An application has been submitted to the Foreign-Trade Zones (FTZ)
Board (the Board) by the Puerto Rico Industrial Development
Corporation, grantee of FTZ 7, requesting special-purpose subzone
status for the pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities of Abbott
Pharmaceuticals PR LTD. (APPR), Abbott Health Products, Inc. (AHP), and
Abbott Biotechnology LTD (ABL), subsidiaries of Abbott Laboratories
(Abbott), located in Barceloneta, Puerto Rico. 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 May 17, 2005.
    The proposed subzone (123 buildings of 2,151,957 square feet
(approx. 90% mfg. sq. ft.) on 276 acres, with a possible expansion of
34 buildings of 2,330,579 sq. ft.) is comprised of one site located at
Road No. 2, Km 58.0, Barceloneta, Puerto Rico. The Abbott facility
(2,200 employees) manufactures, tests, packages, and warehouses
pharmaceutical and diagnostic products, activities which it is

proposing to perform under zone procedures.
    It will be used to produce finished dose pharmaceutical
formulations and diagnostic products. Initially, the company is
proposing to produce the antibiotics, clarythromycin and erythromycin;
and Depakote[supreg][subcom] a treatment for epilepsy, migraine and
bipolar disorder, under zone procedures. Materials sourced from abroad
represent 5-10 percent of the value of the finished products
manufactured under the proposed primary scope. Inverted tariff savings
will initially result from the following ingredients: Beta Carb (HTSUS
2917.19.7050), hexamethyldisilozane (HTSUS 2931.00.9010), and
hypromellose phtalate (HTSUS 3912.90.0090). Some 60 to 80 percent of
the proposed production under zone procedures will be exported.
    The application also requests authority to include a broad range of
inputs and pharmaceutical final products that it may produce under FTZ
procedures in the future. (New major activity in these inputs/products
could require review by the FTZ Board.) General HTSUS categories of

inputs include: 1108, 1212, 1301, 1302, 1515, 1516, 1520, 1521, 1702,
1905, 2106, 2207, 2302, 2309, 2501, 2508, 2510, 2519, 2520, 2526, 2710,
2712, 2807, 2809, 2811, 2814, 2815, 2816, 2817, 2821, 2823, 2825, 2826,
2827, 2829, 2831, 2832, 2833, 2835, 2836, 2837, 2839, 2840, 2841, 2842,
2844, 2846, 2851, 2901, 2902, 2903, 2904 (except for 2904.20.5000),
2905, 2906, 2907, 2908, 2909, 2910, 2911, 2912, 2913, 2914, 2915, 2916,
2917, 2918, 2919, 2920, 2921, 2922, 2923, 2924, 2925, 2926, 2927, 2928,
2929, 2930, 2931, 2932, 2933, 2934, 2935, 2936, 2937, 2938, 2939, 2940,
2941, 2942, 3001, 3002, 3003, 3004, 3005, 3006, 3102, 3104, 3301, 3302,
3305, 3401, 3402, 3403, 3404, 3502, 3503, 3505, 3506, 3507, 3802, 3804,
3808, 3809, 3815, 3822, 3823, 3824, 3906, 3910, 3911, 3912, 3913, 3914,
3915, 3919, 3920, 3921, 3923, 4016, (4202.92.1000, 4202.92.9060,
4202.99.1000, 4202.99.5000 (plastic only)), 4817, 4819, 4901, 4902,
7010, 7607, 8004, 8104, 8309, 8481, 9018, 9602. Duty rates for these
materials range from duty-free to 17%.

    Final products that may be produced from the inputs listed above
include these general HTSUS categories: 2302, 2309, 2825, 2902, 2903,
2904, 2905, 2906, 2907, 2909, 2910, 2912, 2913, 2914, 2915, 2916, 2917,
2918, 2920, 2921, 2922, 2924, 2925, 2926, 2928, 2930, 2931, 2932, 2933,
2934, 2935, 2936, 2937, 2938, 2939, 2940, 2941, 2942, 3001, 3002, 3003,
3004, 3006, 3503, 3507, 3802, 3804, 3808, 3809, 3824, 3910, 3911, 3912,
3913, 3914 and 9018. Duty rates for these products range from duty-free
to 7.5%.
    Zone procedures would exempt Abbott from Customs duty payments on
foreign materials used in production for export (some 60-80% of
shipments). On domestic shipments, the company would be able to defer
Customs duty payments on foreign materials, and to choose the duty rate
that applies to finished products (duty-free) instead of the rates
otherwise applicable to the foreign input materials (3.7% - 5.2%). The
application indicates that the savings from zone procedures would help
improve Abbott'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 one of the following addresses:

[[Page 30081]]

    1. Submissions Via Express/Package Delivery Services: Foreign-
Trade-Zones Board, U.S. Department of Commerce, Franklin Court Building
- Suite 4100W, 1099 14th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20005; or
    2. Submissions Via the U.S. Postal Service: Foreign-Trade-Zones
Board, U.S. Department of Commerce, FCB - Suite 4100W, 1401
Constitution Ave. NW, Washington, D.C. 20230.
    The closing period for their receipt is July 25, 2005. Rebuttal
comments in response to material submitted during the foregoing period
may be submitted during the subsequent 15-day period (to August 8,
2005).
    A copy of the application and accompanying exhibits will be
available for public inspection at the Office of the Foreign-Trade
Zones Board's Executive Secretary at address Number 1 listed above, and
at the U.S. Department of Commerce Export Assistance Center, Centro
Internacional de Mercadeo Torre II, Suite 702, Carr. 165
    Guaynabo, Puerto Rico 00968-8058.

    Dated: May 19, 2005.
Dennis Puccinelli,
Executive Secretary.
[FR Doc. 05-10462 Filed 5-24-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-S