Boltless Steel Shelving Units Prepackaged for Sale from China, Inv. No. 701-TA-523 (Preliminary)

INSTRUCTION BOOKLET

GENERAL INFORMATION, INSTRUCTIONS, AND
DEFINITIONS FOR COMMISSION FOREIGN
PRODUCER/EXPORTER QUESTIONNAIRES

Boltless Steel Shelving Units Prepackaged
for Sale (“Boltless Steel Shelving”) from China
Investigation Nos. 701-TA-523 and 731-TA-1259 (Preliminary)

Further information.--If you have any questions concerning the enclosed
questionnaire(s) or other matters related to this proceeding, you may contact
the following member of the Commission=s staff (Fax 202-205-3205):
Mary Messer, investigator (202-205-3193; Email mary.messer@usitc.gov)

GENERAL INFORMATION
Background.-- This proceeding was instituted in response to a petition filed on August 26, 2014
by Edsal Manufacturing Co., Inc., Chicago, IL. Countervailing and/or antidumping duties may be
assessed on the subject imports as a result of this proceeding if the Commission makes an
affirmative determination of injury, threat, or material retardation, and if the U.S. Department of
Commerce makes an affirmative determination of subsidization and/or dumping.
Questionnaires and other information pertinent to this proceeding are available at
http://www.usitc.gov/trade_remedy/731_ad_701_cvd/investigations/2014/boltless_steel_shelvin
g/prelimphase.htm. Please direct questions regarding the questionnaire and correspondence to Mary
Messer (mary.messer@usitc.gov, 202-205-3193) at the U.S. International Trade Commission, 500 E Street,
SW, Washington, D.C. 20436. Correspondence may be sent to the above address or via FAX to
202-205-3205. Hearing-impaired individuals can obtain information regarding this proceeding via

the Commission=s TDD terminal (202-205-1810).
Due date of questionnaire(s).--Please submit the completed questionnaire(s) to the United States
International Trade Commission so as to be received by no later than September 9, 2014.
Because Commission staff might contact you with questions during the course of the proceeding,
save the final version of the document(s) and retain all files and worksheets associated with the
completed questionnaire(s). Please also retain a copy of the final document that you submit.
Service of questionnaire response(s).--In the event that your firm is a party to this proceeding,
you are required to serve a copy of the questionnaire(s), once completed, on parties to the
proceeding that are subject to administrative protective order (see 19 CFR ' 207.7). A list of such
parties is maintained by the Commission=s Secretary and may be obtained by calling
202-205-1803. A certificate of service must accompany the copy of the completed questionnaire(s)
you submit (see 19 CFR ' 207.7).
Confidentiality.--The commercial and financial data furnished in response to the enclosed
questionnaire(s) that reveal the individual operations of your firm will be treated as confidential by
the Commission to the extent that such data are not otherwise available to the public and will not
be disclosed except as may be required by law (see 19 U.S.C. ' 1677f). Such confidential
information will not be published in a manner that will reveal the individual operations of your
firm; however, general characterizations of numerical business proprietary information (such as
discussion of trends) will be treated as confidential business information only at the request of the
submitter for good cause shown.

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GENERAL INFORMATION--Continued
Verification.--The information submitted in the enclosed questionnaire(s) is subject to audit
and verification by the Commission. To facilitate possible verification of data, please keep
all your files, worksheets, and supporting documents used in the preparation of the
questionnaire response(s).
Release of information.--The information provided by your firm in response to the
questionnaire(s), as well as any other business proprietary information submitted by your firm to
the Commission in connection with the proceeding, may become subject to, and released under,
the administrative protective order provisions of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. ' 1677f) and
section 207.7 of the Commission=s Rules of Practice and Procedure (19 CFR ' 207.7). This means
that certain lawyers and other authorized individuals may temporarily be given access to the
information for use in connection with this proceeding or other import-injury proceedings
conducted by the Commission on the same or similar merchandise; those individuals would be
subject to severe penalties if the information were divulged to unauthorized individuals.
INSTRUCTIONS
Answer all questions.-- Do not leave any question or section blank unless a questionnaire
expressly directs you to skip over certain questions or sections. If the answer to any question is
zero or “none”, enter the number zero or “none”. If information is not readily available from
your records in exactly the form requested, furnish carefully prepared estimates. Answers to
questions and any necessary comments or explanations should be entered in the space provided or
in a separate MS Word document submitted along with the questionnaire(s). If your firm is
completing more than one questionnaire in connection with this proceeding (i.e., a producer,
importer, purchaser, and/or foreign producer questionnaire), you need not respond to duplicated
questions in the questionnaires.
Consolidate all establishments in China.--Report the requested data for your establishment(s)
located in China. Firms operating more than one establishment should combine the data for
all establishments into a single report.
Electronic completion.-- Please electronically enter your responses into the Commission
provided MS Word document. The MS Word versions of all the questionnaires in this
proceeding are available online at the ITC web page or may be obtained directly from the
Commission’s Investigator, Mary Messer (mary.messer@usitc.gov or 202-205-3193).
Electronic submission.-- Responding firms should submit their questionnaire responses
electronically in MS Word format. The submission of questionnaire responses in the MS Word
format allows the Commission to electronically extract data from questionnaires and thus, compile,
assess, and analyze submitted data more efficiently and promptly. Furthermore, the electronic
submission of questionnaires completed in MS Word facilitates the Commission’s ability to
produce documents that comply with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. There are
three electronic submissions options detailed below.

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INSTRUCTIONS--Continued
OPTIONS FOR FILING
This questionnaire is available as a “fillable” form in MS Word format on the
Commission’s website at
http://www.usitc.gov/trade_remedy/731_ad_701_cvd/investigations/2014/boltless_steel_
shelving/prelimphase.htm. Please do not attempt to modify the format or permissions of
the questionnaire document. Please complete the questionnaire and submit it
electronically using one of the methods noted below. If your firm is unable to complete the
MS Word questionnaire or cannot use one of the electronic methods of submission, please
contact the Commission for further instructions.
• Upload via Secure Drop Box.—Upload the completed questionnaire in MS Word format along
with a scanned copy of the signed certification page (page 1) through the Commission’s secure
upload facility:
Web address: https://dropbox.usitc.gov/oinv/

Pin: SHLV

• E-mail.—E-mail your questionnaire to the investigator identified on page 1 of the Instruction
Booklet; include a scanned copy of the signed certification page (page 1). Type the following in
the e-mail subject line: BPI Questionnaire, Inv. No. 701-TA-523 and 731-TA-1259 (Preliminary).
Please note that submitting your questionnaire by e-mail may subject your firm’s business
proprietary information to transmission over an unsecure environment and to possible disclosure.
If you choose this option, the Commission warns you that any risk involving possible disclosure
of such information is assumed by the submitter and not by the Commission.
• Compact disc (CD).—Copy your MS Word questionnaire onto a CD. Also, please include a
signed certification page (page 1) and mail to the U.S. International Trade Commission, 500 E
Street SW, Washington, DC 20024. It is strongly recommended that you use an overnight mail
service. U.S. mail sent to government offices undergoes additional processing which not only
results in substantial delays in delivery but may also damage CDs.
Note: If you are a party to the proceeding, and service of the questionnaire is required, such
service should be made in paper form.

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DEFINITIONS
Boltless Steel Shelving Units Prepackaged for Sale (“Boltless Steel Shelving”).—The scope of
the petition covers boltless steel shelving units prepackaged for sale, with or without decks. The
term “prepackaged for sale” means that the vertical supports (i.e., posts) and horizontal supports
(i.e., beams and braces) necessary to assemble a completed shelving unit (with or without decks)
are packaged together for ultimate purchase by the end user. The scope also includes add-on kits
that allow the end user to add an extension shelving unit onto an existing boltless steel shelving
unit such that the extension and the original unit will share a set of posts. The term “boltless” refers
to steel shelving in which the vertical and horizontal supports forming the frame are assembled
primarily without the use of nuts and bolts or screws. The vertical and horizontal support members
for boltless steel shelving are typically assembled by fitting a rivet, punched or cut tab or other
similar connector on one support into a hole, slot or similar receptacle on another support. The
supports lock together to form the frame for the shelving unit. The incidental use of nuts and bolts
or screws to add accessories, wall anchors, tie-bars or shelf supports does not remove the product
from scope. Boltless steel shelving units may also come packaged as partially assembled, such as
when two upright supports are welded together with front-to-back supports, or are otherwise
connected, to form an end unit for the frame. The boltless steel shelving covered by this petition
may be commonly described as rivet shelving, welded frame shelving, slot and tab shelving, and
punched rivet (quasi-rivet) shelving as well as by other trade names.
The scope includes all boltless steel shelving meeting the description above, regardless of
(1) vertical support or post type (including but not limited to open post, closed post and tubing); (2)
horizontal support or beam/brace profile (including but not limited to Z-beam, C-beam, L-beam,
step beam and cargo rack); (3) number of supports; (4) surface coating type (including but not
limited to paint, epoxy, powder coating, zinc and other metallic coating); (5) number of levels; (6)
weight capacity; (7) shape (including but not limited to rectangular, square, and corner units); (8)
decking type (including but not limited to wire decking, particle board, laminated board or no deck
at all); or (9) the boltless method by which vertical and horizontal supports connect (including but
not limited to keyhole and rivet, slot and tab, welded frame, punched rivet and clip).
Specifically excluded from the scope are pallet racks, plastic shelving units, wall-mounted
shelving, wooden shelving units and other wooden furniture containing shelves. Also excluded
from the scope is wire shelving, which consists of a shelf made from wire that incorporates both
a wire deck and wire horizontal supports (taking the place of the horizontal beams and braces) into
a single piece with tubular collars that slide over the posts and onto plastic sleeves snapped on the
posts to create the finished shelving unit. Also excluded from the scope are bulk-packed parts or
components of boltless steel shelving units and made-to-order commercial shelving systems.
Subject boltless steel shelving enters the United States through Harmonized Tariff
Schedule of the United States (“HTSUS”) statistical reporting numbers 9403.20.0018 (metal
household furniture other than cribs and toddler enclosures etc.) and 9403.20.0020 (metal shelves
other than household or office furniture), but may also enter through HTSUS 9403.10.0040 (metal
furniture of a kind used in offices, other than filing cabinets). While HTSUS statistical reporting
numbers are provided for convenience and Customs purposes, the written description of the scope
of this investigation is dispositive.

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DEFINITIONS--Continued
Firm.--An individual proprietorship, partnership, joint venture, association, corporation
(including any subsidiary corporation), business trust, cooperative, trustee in bankruptcy, or
receiver under decree of any court.
Related firm.--A firm that your firm solely or jointly owned, managed, or otherwise controlled; a
firm that solely or jointly owned, managed, or otherwise controlled your firm; and/or a firm that
was solely or jointly owned, managed, or otherwise controlled by a firm that also solely or jointly
owned, managed, or otherwise controlled your firm.
Establishment.--Each facility of a firm in China involved in the production of boltless steel
shelving (as defined above), including auxiliary facilities operated in conjunction with (whether
or not physically separate from) such facilities.
United States.--For purposes of this proceeding, the 50 States, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands,
and the District of Columbia.
Importer.--Any person or firm engaged, either directly or through a parent company or subsidiary,
in importing boltless steel shelving (as defined above) into the United States from a foreign
manufacturer or through its selling agent.
Average production capacity.--The level of production that your establishment(s) could
reasonably have expected to attain during the specified periods. Assume normal operating
conditions (i.e., using equipment and machinery in place and ready to operate; normal operating
levels (hours per week/weeks per year) and time for downtime, maintenance, repair, and cleanup;
and a typical or representative product mix).
Production.--All production in your establishment(s) in China, including production consumed
internally within your firm.

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DEFINITIONS--Continued
Shipments.--Shipments of products produced in your establishment(s) in China. Quantities
reported should be net of returns.
Shipment quantities.—Quantities reported should be net of returns.
Shipment values.—Values reported should be net values (i.e., gross sales values less all
discounts, allowances, rebates, prepaid freight, and the value of returned goods) in U.S.
dollars, f.o.b. your point of shipment in China.
Home market commercial shipments.--Shipments, other than internal consumption and
transfers to related firms, within China.
Home market internal consumption/transfers to related firms.--Shipments made to
related firms in China, including product consumed internally by your firm.
Export shipments.--Shipments to destinations outside China, including shipments to
related firms.
Inventories.--Finished goods inventory, not raw materials or work-in-progress.

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