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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE Foreign-Trade Zones Board [Docket 41-96] Foreign-Trade Zone 202; Los Angeles, CA; Application for Subzone; Minnesota Mining & Manufacturing Company (3M) (Pharmaceutical Products), Los Angeles, CAAn application has been submitted to the Foreign-Trade Zones Board (the Board) by the Board of Harbor Commissioners of the City of Los Angeles, grantee of FTZ 202, requesting special-purpose subzone status for the pharmaceutical manufacturing facility of the Minnesota Mining & Manufacturing Company (3M), in Los Angeles, California. 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 15, 1996.
3M is a global manufacturer of a wide variety of products including tapes, adhesives, abrasives, specialty chemicals, electronic and communications products, medical imaging systems, data storage products, traffic and personal safety products, and health care products. Its 3M Pharmaceuticals Division will operate the proposed subzone site.
The 3M plant (12 buildings/121,000 mfg. sq. ft. on 32.5 acres) is located at 19901 Nordhoff Street, Los Angeles (Los Angeles County), California. The facility (400 employees) primarily produces solid-dose pharmaceutical products such as: antacids, appetite suppressants, muscle relaxants, and products for the treatment of arthritis, skeletal muscle pain, cardiac arrhythmia, asthma and urinary tract infections; controlled-dose inhalers for the treatment of bronchial asthma and vascular headaches; and transdermal patches for hormonal replacement and the treatment of angina pain. The materials for certain products are sourced abroad (accounting for some 30 percent of total material value) and include, aluminum bottles, valves, valve parts and plastic actuators for aerosol delivery systems, orphenadrine citrate, antacid capsules and tablets, epinephrine, flecanide acetate, methenamine hippurate, pirbuterol acetate, theophylline anhydrous, and ethyl oleate. Some 40 percent of production is exported.
Zone procedures would exempt 3M from Customs duty payments on foreign materials used in production for export. On domestic shipments, the company would be able to choose the duty rates that apply to the finished products (duty-free) instead of the rates otherwise applicable to the foreign materials (duty-free to 7.7%). The application indicates that the savings from zone procedures will help improve the plant'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 the address below. The closing period for their receipt is July 23, 1996. Rebuttal comments in response to material submitted during the foregoing period may be submitted during the subsequent 15- day period (to August 7, 1996).
A copy of the application and accompanying exhibits will be available for public inspection at each of the following locations:
U.S. Department of Commerce District Office, Room 9200, 11000 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90024. Office of the Executive Secretary, Foreign-Trade Zones Board, U.S. Department of Commerce, Room 3716, 14th & Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20230.
Dated: May 16, 1996. John J. Da Ponte, Jr., Executive Secretary. [FR Doc. 96-13170 Filed 5-23-96; 8:45 am]