Expansion Sought for Louisiana's FTZ #124

An application has been submitted to the Foreign-Trade Zones Board by the Port of South Louisiana, grantee of FTZ #124, requesting special-purpose subzone status for the barite milling facility of Excalibur Minerals LLC, located in New Iberia, Louisiana. It was formally filed on May 6, 2009.

The Excalibur facility is used for activities related to the milling (heating, grinding, crushing), storage and distribution of ground barite, primarily for the US market. The material that would be purchased from abroad is raw barite, dutiable at $1.25 per metric ton.

FTZ procedures could excempt the company from customs duty payments on the foreign component used in export production. The company anticipates that less than 1% of the plant's shipments will be exported. On its domestic sales, Excalibur would be able to choose the duty rate during customs entry procedures that applies to the ground barite (duty free) for the foreign input noted above. FTZ designation would further allow Excalibur to realize logistical benefits through the use of weekly customs entry procedures, as well as savings from the elimination of duties on materials that become scrap/waste during manufacturing. The application indicates that the FTZ-related savings would help improve the facility's international competitiveness.

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