Initiation of countervailing duty investigation of boltless steel shelving units prepackaged for sale from the People's Republic of China (C-570-019)

1. On 09/22/2014, Commerce published in the Federal Register its initiation of the countervailing duty investigation of boltless steel shelving units prepackaged for sale from the People's Republic of China (79 FR 56567). 2. The scope of this investigation covers boltless steel shelving units prepackaged for sale, with or without decks (“boltless steel shelving”). 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 investigation may be commonly described as rivet shelving, welded frame shelving, slot and tab shelving, and punched rivet (quasirivet) 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 subheadings 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 subheadings are provided for convenience and Customs purposes, the written description of the scope of this investigation is dispositive. 3. This investigation has been assigned investigation number C-570-019. 4. If there are any questions by the importing public regarding this message, please contact the Call Center for the Office of AD/CVD Operations, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce at (202) 482-0984. CBP ports should submit their inquiries through authorized CBP channels only. (This message was generated by OV:SSP.) 5. There are no restrictions on the release of this information. Michael B. Walsh