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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE [Docket 66-96] Foreign-Trade Zone 61--San Juan, PR; Application for Subzone Status: PepsiCo of Puerto Rico, Inc. (Soft Drink Concentrates) Cidra, Puerto RicoAn application has been submitted to the Foreign-Trade Zones Board (the Board) by the Commercial and Farm Credit and Development Corporation for Puerto Rico, grantee of FTZ 61, requesting special- purpose subzone status for the soft drink flavoring concentrate manufacturing plant of PepsiCo of Puerto Rico, Inc. (PPR) (subsidiary of PepsiCo, Inc.), located in Cidra, Puerto Rico. 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 22, 1996.
The PPR plant (35,000 sq.ft.) is located at Streets A and B (Lots 9 and 10) within the Cidra Industrial Area of the City of Cidra, about 25 miles south of San Juan. The facility (160 employees) is used to produce PepsiCo, Inc., branded soft drink flavoring concentrates for products such as ``Pepsi'', ``Diet Pepsi'', and ``Mountain Dew'', that are sold to licensed bottling companies in the U.S. and abroad. The application indicates that ingredients purchased from foreign sources include: sodium benzoate, sodium citrate dihydrate, citric acid, erythoribic acid, caffeine, gum arabic, FD&C yellow #5, citrus pectin, aspartame, liquid invert sugar, orange juice solids, and potassium citrate (duty rate range: free-18.6%; 8.4 cents/kg).
Zone procedures would exempt PPR from Customs duty payments on the foreign ingredients used in production for export. On domestic sales, PPR would be able to choose the duty rate that applies to finished soft drink concentrates (10%) for the foreign ingredients noted above. The ethanol used in the production process is domestically-sourced, and FTZ procedures would provide an alternative means of exempting the ethanol from federal excise taxes based on its use in the manufacture of soft drink concentrates. The application indicates that the savings from zone procedures would 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 on the application is invited from interested parties. Submissions (original and three copies) shall be addressed to the Board's Executive Secretary at the address below. The closing period for their receipt is November 12, 1996. Rebuttal comments in response to material submitted during the foregoing period may be submitted during the subsequent 15-day period (to November 25, 1996).
A copy of the application and the accompanying exhibits will be available for public inspection at each of the following locations:
U.S. Export Assistance Center, Federal Building, Room G-55, Chardon Avenue, Hato Rey, PR 00918 Office of the Executive Secretary, Foreign-Trade Zones Board, U.S. Department of Commerce, Room 3716, 14th Street & Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20230.
Dated: August 28, 1996. John J. Da Ponte, Jr., Executive Secretary. [FR Doc. 96-23111 Filed 9-10-96; 8:45 am]