Foreign-Trade Zone 153City of San Diego, California, Application for Subzone, Calbiochem-Novabiochem Corporation (Life Science Chemicals), San Diego, CA

[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 90 (Wednesday, May 10, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 24830-24831]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-11527]



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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Foreign-Trade Zones Board
[Docket 17-95]


Foreign-Trade Zone 153--City of San Diego, California, 
Application for Subzone, Calbiochem-Novabiochem Corporation (Life 
Science Chemicals), San Diego, CA

    An application has been submitted to the Foreign-Trade Zones Board 
(the Board) by the City of San Diego, California, grantee of FTZ 153, 
requesting special-purpose subzone status for the life science 
chemicals processing/distribution facility of Calbiochem-Novabiochem 
Corporation (CNC) in San Diego, California, within the San Diego 
Customs port of entry. 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 April 26, 1995.
    CNC is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Calbiochem-Novabiochem 
International, Inc. (U.S.), a global manufacturer and distributor of 
life science fine chemicals used for clinical research and the 
development of biochemical products. Life science chemicals include 
human plasma proteins, enzymes, amino acids, detergents, peptides, 
toxins, antibodies, immunochemicals, resins, inhibitors, buffers, 
coupling reagents, and chiral synthons.
    The CNC facility (2 buildings--a 3rd one planned--totalling 134,000 
sq. ft. on 7.8 acres) is located at 10394 Pacific Center Court, San 
Diego, California. The facility (80 employees) is primarily used to 
test and repackage life science chemicals for use by academic and 
government researchers and, industrial and pharmaceutical companies. 
Some of the products, accounting for about 5 percent of plant 
shipments, are also involved in blending/processing activity prior to 
packaging.
    The application identifies three types of products that would be 
initially produced by the blending activity under zone procedures at 
this time: Chromium tripicolate (duty rate--3.7%), sodium cholate 
(3.1%), and amino acids (4.2%). The foreign sourced materials involved 
in their manufacture are picolinic acid [[Page 24831]] (5.8%), cholic 
acid (4.0%), and various packaging materials (4.8%-5.3%).
    Foreign materials (accounting for about 13-15 percent of material 
value) that may also be involved in blending/processing activity 
include buffers, antibodies, detergents, proteins, avidin/biotin, 
toxins, conjugates, enzymes, enzyme substrates, inhibitors, growth 
factors, amino acids, reagents for peptide or phosphopeptide synthesis, 
and peptides. The duty rates on imported materials range from duty-free 
to 18.6 percent, with most falling between 4 percent and 7 percent. 
Currently, about 45 percent of merchandise is exported.
    Zone procedures would exempt CNC from Customs duty payments on 
foreign materials that are reexported. The company would be able to 
choose, in some cases, the finished product duty rates (3.1%-4.2%) 
rather than the duty rates that would otherwise apply to the foreign 
materials (duty-free to 18.6%) on the above noted items blended/
processed at the facility. The application indicates that zone 
procedures will improve the plant's international competitiveness and 
will help increase exports.
    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 10, 1995. Rebuttal comments in response to material submitted 
during the foregoing period may be submitted during the subsequent 15-
day period (to July 24, 1995).
    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, Suite 230, 6363 Greenwich 
Drive, San Diego, CA 92122
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 2, 1995.
John J. Da Ponte, Jr.
Executive Secretary.
[FR Doc. 95-11527 Filed 5-9-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P