[Federal Register: September 7, 1999 (Volume 64, Number 172)]
[Notices]               
[Page 48578-48579]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr07se99-24]                         

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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Foreign-Trade Zones Board
[Docket 42-99]

 
Foreign-Trade Zone 49--Newark/Elizabeth, New Jersey; Application 
for Subzone, Clariant Corp., Somerville, New Jersey

    An application has been submitted to the Foreign-Trade Zones Board 
(the Board) by the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey, grantee of 
FTZ 49, requesting special-purpose subzone status for the manufacturing 
and warehousing facilities of Clariant Corporation (Clariant), located 
in Somerville, New Jersey. 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 August 25, 1999.
    The Clariant Corporation has two sites with 150 employees in 
Somerset County, New Jersey. Site 1 (64.06 acres) is located at 70 
Meister Avenue in Somerville, New Jersey. Site 2 (2 acres) is located 
at 55 Veronica Avenue in Somerset, New Jersey. The Clariant facilities 
are used for the manufacturing, testing, packaging and warehousing of 
specialized electronic chemicals used in the production of 
microelectronic devices. Initially, zone savings are expected to come 
from the manufacture of photoresists, strippers, anti-reflective 
coatings, and edge bead removers/thinners (HTS 3707 and 3814, duty rate 
ranges from 6.0% to 6.5%). Components and materials sourced from abroad 
(representing about 70% of all parts consumed in manufacturing) 
include: sulfonic esters, resins, dyes, organic surface active agents, 
and chemical preparations for photographic uses (HTS 2927, 3402, 3707, 
and 3909, duty rate ranges from 4.0% to 9.5%). The application also 
indicates that the company may in the future import under FTZ 
procedures a wide variety of other chemical materials, as well as other 
products used in the production of electronic chemicals.

[[Page 48579]]

    FTZ procedures would exempt Clariant from Customs duty payments on 
the foreign components used in export production. Some 10 percent of 
the plant's shipments are exported. On its domestic sales, Clariant 
would be able to choose the duty rates during Customs entry procedures 
that apply to finished electronic chemicals (6.0-6.5%) for the foreign 
inputs noted above. In addition, Clariant products shipped to 
semiconductor manufacturers with subzone status could be subject to the 
semiconductor duty rate (duty-free). The request indicates that the 
savings from FTZ procedures would help improve the plant's 
international competitiveness.
    In accordance with the Board's regulations, a member of the FTZ 
staff has been appointed examiner to investigate the application and 
report to the Board.
    Public comment on the application 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 November 8, 1999. Rebuttal comments in response to 
material submitted during the foregoing period may be submitted during 
the subsequent 15-day period November 22, 1999.
    A copy of the application and the accompanying exhibits will be 
available for public inspection at each of the following locations:

U.S. Customs Port of Entry -Perth Amboy, 205 Jefferson St., Room 203, 
Perth Amboy, NJ 08861.
Office of the Executive Secretary, Foreign-Trade Zones Board, Room 
3716, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th and Pennsylvania Avenue, NW,
    Washington, DC 20230

    Dated: August 27, 1999.
Dennis Puccinelli,
Acting Executive Secretary.
[FR Doc. 99-23210 Filed 9-3-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P