Diffusion-Annealed, Nickel-Plated Steel Flat-Rolled Products from Japan, Inv. No. 731-1206 (Preliminary)

INSTRUCTION BOOKLET

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

DIFFUSION-ANNEALED, NICKEL-PLATED STEEL FROM JAPAN
Investigation No. 731-TA-1206 (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):
Nathanael Comly, investigator (Email [email protected]; 202-205-3174)

GENERAL INFORMATION
Background.-- This proceeding was instituted in response to a petition filed on March 27, 2013 by
Thomas Steel Strip Corporation, Warren, OH. 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 dumping.
Questionnaires and other information pertinent to this proceeding are available at
http://www.usitc.gov/trade_remedy/731_ad_701_cvd/investigations/2013/nickel_plated_steel/prelimphase.htm

Please direct questions regarding the questionnaire and correspondence to Nathanael Comly
([email protected]; 202-205-3174) at the U.S. International Trade Commission, 500 E
Street, SW, Washington, D.C. 20436. Correspondence can also be transmitted 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 April 10, 2013. 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 Japan.--Report the requested data for your establishment(s)
located in Japan. 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, Nathanael Comly ([email protected], or
202-205-3174).
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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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/2013/nickel_plated_steel/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: DANP

• 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. 1206. 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
Diffusion-annealed, nickel-plated steel flat-rolled products (“diffusion-annealed, nickel-plated
steel”).--The products covered by this proceeding are flat-rolled, cold-reduced steel products,
whether or not in coil, either plated or coated with nickel or nickel-based alloys by a process in
which the base metal is plated with nickel or nickel-based alloys and subsequently annealed,
whether or not also painted, varnished or coated with plastics or other metallic or nonmetallic
substances, as covered, primarily, by statistical reporting numbers 7210.90.6000 and
7212.50.0000 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTS).1
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 Japan involved in the production of diffusion-annealed,
nickel-plated steel (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 diffusion-annealed, nickel-plated steel (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 Japan, including production consumed
internally within your firm.

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The product may also be imported under statistical reporting numbers 7210.70.6090, 7212.40.1000, 7212.40.5000,
or 7219.90.0020, 7219.90.0025, 7219.90.0060, 7219.90.0080, 7220.90.0010, 7220.90.0015, 7220.90.0060,
7220.90.0080, 7225.99.0090, or 7226.99.0180.

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DEFINITIONS--Continued
Shipments.--Shipments of products produced in your establishment(s) in Japan. Quantities
reported should be net of returns.
Home market commercial shipments.--Shipments, other than internal consumption and
transfers to related firms, within Japan.
Home market internal consumption/transfers to related firms.--Shipments made to
related firms in Japan, including product consumed internally by your firm.
Export shipments.--Shipments to destinations outside Japan, including shipments to
related firms.
Inventories.--Finished goods inventory, not raw materials or work-in-progress.

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