Certain Steel Threaded Rod from China (F)

INSTRUCTION BOOKLET

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

CERTAIN STEEL THREADED ROD FROM CHINA
Investigation No. 731-TA-1145 (Final)

Further information.--If you have any questions concerning the enclosed
questionnaire(s) or other matters related to this investigation, you may contact
the following member of the Commission=s staff (Fax 202-205-3205):
Joanna Lo, investigator (202-205-1888; E-mail [email protected])

GENERAL INFORMATION
Background.--This investigation was instituted in response to a petition filed on March 5, 2008 by
Vulcan Threaded Products, Inc., Pelham, AL. Antidumping duties may be assessed on the subject
imports as a result of this investigation 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 dumping.
Questionnaires and other information pertinent to this investigation are available at
http://www.usitc.gov/trade_remedy/731_ad_701_cvd/investigations/active/index.htm. Address all
correspondence to the United States International Trade Commission, Washington, DC 20436.
Hearing-impaired individuals can obtain information regarding this investigation via the
Commission=s TDD terminal (202-205-1810).
Due date of questionnaire(s).--Return the completed questionnaire(s) to the United States
International Trade Commission by no later than DECEMBER 19, 2008. Although the enclosed
postpaid envelope may be used to return the completed questionnaire, use of an overnight mail
service may be necessary to ensure that your response actually reaches the Commission by
DECEMBER 19, 2008. If you do not use the enclosed envelope, please make sure the completed
questionnaire is sent to the attention of Joanna Lo. Return only one copy of the completed
questionnaire(s), but please keep a copy for your records so that you can refer to it if the
Commission staff contacts you with any questions during the course of the investigation.
Service of questionnaire response(s).--In the event that your firm is a party to this investigation,
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, nonnumerical 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
workpapers 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 investigation, 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 investigation or other import-injury investigations 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 Anone,@ write
Anone.@ If information is not readily available from your records in exactly the form requested,
furnish carefully prepared estimates--designated as such by the letter AE@--and explain the basis of
your estimates. Answers to questions and any necessary comments or explanations should be supplied
in the space provided or on separate sheets attached to the appropriate page of the questionnaire(s). If
your firm is completing more than one questionnaire in connection with this investigation (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.
• Filing instructions.—Questionnaires may be filed either in paper form or electronically.

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INSTRUCTIONS--Continued
OPTIONS FOR FILING IN PAPER FORM
Overnight mail service.—Mail to the following address:
United States International Trade Commission
Office of Investigations, Room 615
500 E Street, SW
Washington, DC 20024
• Fax.—Fax to 202.205.3205.
• U.S. mail.—Mail to the address above, but use zip code 20436. This option is not recommended. U.S.
mail sent to government offices undergoes additional processing to screen for hazardous materials; this
additional processing results in substantial delays in delivery.
OPTIONS FOR FILING ELECTRONICALLY
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/active/index.htm. Please

do not attempt to modify the format or permissions of the questionnaire document. You
may complete the questionnaire electronically, print it out, and submit it in paper form as
described above, or you may submit it electronically through one of the following means:
• By means of the Commission’s Electronic Document Information System (EDIS).—Follow the
step-by-step instructions on the next page.
• Compact disc (CD).—Copy your questionnaire onto a CD, include a signed certification page (page 1)
(either in paper form or scanned PDF copied onto CD), and mail to the address above. 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.
• E-mail.—E-mail your questionnaire to the investigator identified on page 1 of the Instruction Booklet;
include a scanned PDF of the signed certification page (page 1). Type the following in the e-mail
subject line: BPI Questionnaire, INV. NO. 731-1145. 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.
Note: If you are a party to the investigation, and service of the questionnaire is required, such service should
be made in paper form.

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INSTRUCTIONS--Continued
INSTRUCTIONS FOR FILING VIA EDIS
STEP 1: REGISTER AS A NEW USER IN EDIS (current registered users may skip this step)
• The authorized official whose name appears under the Certification at the bottom of page 1 of the
questionnaire should be the person who completes the registration in EDIS
• Go to https://eofpub.usitc.gov/edis-efile/app
• Click on Register
• Read and accept the Terms of Use Agreement
• Complete the EDIS Online User Registration form
o In the Firm/Organization field, select Questionnaire Respondent
• Click Submit Registration
STEP 2: ELECTRONICALLY SUBMIT YOUR QUESTIONNAIRE(S) IN EDIS
• Click on E-File Documents
• Under Submitter Information, type the name of your firm in the Filed On Behalf Of field
• Under Investigation Information, click on Find Investigation
o For Investigation Phase, select “Prelim” and for Investigation Number, type
“731-TA-1145”; Click on Find Investigation
o Click in the circle to the left of the investigation number that appears, then click on Select
and confirm by clicking OK
• Under Document Filing Information—
o For Document Type, select Questionnaire – Foreign Producer, Questionnaire –
Importer, Questionnaire – Purchaser, or Questionnaire – U.S. Producer, as
appropriate
o Leave Document Title field blank
• Under Add Document Attachments for Electronic Submission—
o In the Attach File field, click on Browse, locate your MS Word questionnaire file, and
double-click the file
o The Attachment Title field is optional
o Click on Attach Files (note that your file will be listed below under Attachments)
o You must attach a scanned PDF of the signed certification page (page 1). If you wish to
attach any other files, i.e., supporting documents, do so at this time (unlike the
questionnaire itself, these additional documents must be PDFs). Only one questionnaire
may be filed at a time.
o When you have attached all relevant files, click on Submit Document w/attachments.
An EDIS Document Submission Confirmation screen will appear. Confirm the
information and click on Accept Information. An EDIS Notice of Receipt of
Electronic Documents will appear, which completes the process. If you wish to
electronically file another questionnaire, repeat Step 2.

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DEFINITIONS
Certain Steel Threaded Rod.--This investigation covers certain threaded rod, bar, or studs, of carbon
quality steel, having a solid, circular cross section, of any diameter, in any straight length, that have been
forged, turned, cold drawn, cold rolled, machine straightened, or otherwise cold finished, and into which
threaded grooves have been applied. In addition, the steel threaded rod, bar, or studs subject to this
investigation are non headed and threaded along greater than 25 percent of their total length. A variety
of finishes or coatings, such as plain oil finish as a temporary rust protectant, zinc coating (i.e.,
galvanized, whether by electroplating or hot dipping), paint, and other similar finishes and coatings, may
be applied to the merchandise.
Included in the scope of this investigation are steel threaded rod, bar, or studs, in which: (1) iron
predominates, by weight, over each of the other contained elements; (2) the carbon content is 2 percent
or less, by weight; and (3) none of the elements listed below exceeds the quantity, by weight, respectively
indicated:
- 1.80 percent of manganese, or
- 1.50 percent of silicon, or
- 1.00 percent of copper, or
- 0.50 percent of aluminum, or
-1.25 percent of chromium, or
- 0.30 percent of cobalt, or
- 0.40 percent of lead, or
- 1.25 percent of nickel, or
- 0.30 percent of tungsten, or
- 0.012 percent of boron, or
- 0.10 percent of molybdenum, or
- 0.10 percent of niobium, or
- 0.41 percent of titanium, or
- 0.15 percent of vanadium, or
- 0.15 percent of zirconium.
Steel threaded rod is currently classifiable under subheading 7318.15.5050 and 7318.15.5090 1 of
the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (‘‘HTSUS’’). Although the HTSUS subheading is
provided for convenience and customs purposes, the written description of the merchandise is
dispositive.
Excluded from the scope of the investigation are: (a) threaded rod, bar, or studs which are
threaded only on one or both ends and the threading covers 25 percent or less of the total length; and (b)
threaded rod, bar, or studs made to American Society for Testing and Materials (‘‘ASTM’’) A193 Grade
B7, ASTM A193 Grade B7M, ASTM A193 Grade B16, or ASTM A320 Grade L7.

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Prior to July 1, 2008, carbon and alloy steel threaded rod had previously been classified under the HTS subheading
7318.15.5060, which was deleted effective July 1, 2008. A separate HTS subheading 7318.15.5050 for "continuously
threaded rod" made of carbon or alloy steel was created. In addition, a new HTS subheading, 7318.15.5090, for "other"
category of products was added.

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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 certain steel threaded
rod (as defined above), including auxiliary facilities operated in conjunction with (whether or not
physically separate from) such facilities.
United States.--For purposes of this investigation, 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 certain steel threaded rod (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.
Shipments.--Shipments of products produced in your establishment(s) in CHINA. Quantities reported
should be net of returns.
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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