US Keeps Anti-Dumping and Subsidy Duties on Chinese Steel Shelving Units

United States keeps anti-dumping and anti-subsidy duties on Chinese boltless steel shelving units, effective Sept. 29, 2026, after a five-year review.

The U.S. Department of Commerce has kept its extra duties on boltless steel shelving units from China, with the decision applying from Sept. 29, 2026¹.

Commerce published the continuation notice in the Federal Register on Oct. 14, 2026¹. It covers two duty orders that date back to Oct. 21, 2015¹.

In short, nothing changes at the border for these shelves. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the U.S. border agency, will keep collecting duty deposits on every covered shipment from China¹.

What did Commerce decide on Chinese shelving?

Commerce ordered the continuation of an anti-dumping duty order and a countervailing duty order on the shelving¹. An anti-dumping duty is an extra import tax on goods sold abroad below their normal price. A countervailing duty is an extra import tax that offsets subsidies a foreign government gives its makers.

Both orders were due for a check after five years. This check is called a sunset review, because the orders end unless the government finds a reason to keep them. This was the second such review of the shelving orders¹.

Commerce and the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC), the agency that rules on harm to U.S. industry, both had to agree. Each found that ending the orders would likely bring back unfair pricing and harm to U.S. producers¹.

Why did the United States keep the duties?

Commerce found that ending the anti-dumping order would likely lead to dumping again. It said the dumping margins likely to return would reach up to 112.68%². A dumping margin is the gap between the export price and the normal price, shown as a share of the export price.

In a separate notice, Commerce found that ending the countervailing duty order would likely bring back subsidies³. It listed the subsidy rates it expects for named Chinese companies, from 12.40% to 80.39%³.

The ITC then made its own finding on Sept. 24, 2026. It found that ending both orders would likely lead to continued or renewed material injury, meaning serious harm, to a U.S. industry⁴. The ITC published that finding on Sept. 29, 2026¹.

Which shelving products are covered?

The orders cover boltless steel shelving units that are prepackaged for sale, with or without shelves¹. "Prepackaged" means the steel uprights, posts, beams and braces needed to build a full unit are packed together for the end buyer¹.

"Boltless" means the frame goes together mainly without nuts, bolts or screws¹. Instead, a rivet, tab or similar connector on one part fits into a hole or slot on another part¹. The parts lock together and form the frame, even without any shelves in place¹.

Add-on kits are also covered. These include kits that let a buyer attach an extra unit to an existing one, where both share parts such as two posts¹. A few nuts or screws used for accessories, wall anchors or shelf supports do not take a product out of the orders¹.

The notice names common trade names for these goods¹:

• rivet shelving
• welded frame shelving
• slot and tab shelving
• punched rivet shelving, also called quasi-rivet shelving

The orders apply whatever the post type, beam shape, coating, number of levels, weight capacity or shelf material¹. Shelves of wire, particle board or laminated board, or no shelves at all, are all covered¹.

Which shelving products are left out?

Commerce lists four products that fall outside the orders¹:

• Wall-mounted shelving, which hangs on a wall and does not stand on or rest its weight on the floor.
• Wire shelving units, where each wire shelf includes its own supports and slides over the posts using collars and plastic sleeves.
• Bulk-packed parts of boltless shelving units, not packed as a complete set.
• Made-to-order shelving systems.

These exclusions matter for buyers who import parts loose rather than as complete kits. Parts shipped in bulk, not as a set for one unit, are outside the orders as written¹.

Which tariff codes do the shelves use?

The shelves enter the United States under four statistical codes of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), the U.S. import tariff list¹. These are 9403.20.0018, 9403.20.0020, 9403.20.0025 and 9403.20.0026¹.

They may also enter under code 9403.10.0040¹. Commerce says the codes are given for convenience only. The written description of the goods decides what is covered, not the code¹.

This means a shipment can still owe the duties if it is entered under another code. Customs brokers must check the product against the written description.

What rates could apply to Chinese makers?

The subsidy review lists the rates Commerce expects would return without the order³. Two companies have lower rates³:

• Ningbo ETDZ Huixing Trade Co., Ltd: 12.40%
• Nanjing Topsun Racking Manufacturing Co., Ltd: 15.05%

Fourteen other named companies carry a rate of 80.39%³. They include Dalian Huameilong Metal Products, Global Storage Equipment Manufacturer, Nanjing Whitney Metal Products and Ningbo TLT Metal Products³. All other Chinese makers and exporters have a rate of 13.73%³.

The anti-dumping review gives one figure: margins of up to 112.68%². These review rates show what Commerce expects would happen without the orders. The deposits that CBP actually collects are the rates in force on the day goods enter¹.

How did the second review work?

Commerce and the ITC began the second sunset review on April 1, 2026¹. On April 14, 2026, Commerce received a notice from Edsal Manufacturing Company, a U.S. maker of boltless shelving, that it would take part². Edsal was also the company that asked for the original duties².

Edsal filed its full response on April 30, 2026². No Chinese producer, exporter or the Chinese government sent a full response³. Nobody asked for a hearing².

Because Chinese parties did not take part, Commerce ran a shorter, 120-day expedited review². It told the ITC on May 20, 2026, that it had no adequate response from Chinese parties². The ITC also chose a short review on July 6, 2026⁵.

The steps came in this order:

1. April 1, 2026: the review starts at both agencies¹.
2. July 31, 2026: Commerce publishes its anti-dumping finding².
3. Aug. 4, 2026: Commerce publishes its subsidy finding³.
4. Sept. 24, 2026: the ITC completes its injury finding⁴.
5. Oct. 14, 2026: Commerce publishes the continuation notice¹.

The ITC’s full reasons are in its report, USITC Publication 5793, dated September 2026⁴.

What changes for importers of Chinese shelving?

For importers, the main effect is that the duties stay. CBP will continue to collect cash deposits for both duties at the rates in effect when goods enter¹. A cash deposit is money paid at entry to cover the expected duty.

Importers of covered shelves from China must still pay both deposits on each entry. This applies whenever the shelves arrive packed as complete boltless kits or add-on kits¹.

Chinese makers and exporters keep facing these extra costs when they sell to U.S. buyers. U.S. producers such as Edsal keep the protection the orders give them².

U.S. retailers and wholesalers that buy these units from China face the same higher landed costs as before. Buyers who switch to excluded products, such as wall-mounted or wire shelving, do not pay these duties¹.

When is the next review of the shelving duties?

The continuation is effective from Sept. 29, 2026¹. The orders now run for another five years.

Commerce says it intends to start the next five-year review no later than 30 days before the fifth anniversary of the ITC’s last finding¹. Until then, the duties stay in place for all covered shelving from China.

Key points on Chinese boltless steel shelving

The table below sums up the decision.

Shipments of these shelves from China will keep paying both duties at the border. The next sunset review is due to start no later than 30 days before the fifth anniversary of the ITC’s Sept. 2026 finding¹.

Sources

1. ↩ Federal Register :: Boltless Steel Shelving Units Prepackaged for Sale From the People’s Republic of China: Continuation of Antidumping Duty Order and Countervailing Duty Order https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/10/14/2026-20920/boltless-steel-shelving-units-prepackaged-for-sale-from-the-peoples-republic-of-china-continuation
2. ↩ Federal Register :: Boltless Steel Shelving Units Prepackaged for Sale From the People’s Republic of China: Final Results of the Expedited Sunset Review of the Antidumping Duty Order https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/07/31/2026-15470/boltless-steel-shelving-units-prepackaged-for-sale-from-the-peoples-republic-of-china-final-results
3. ↩ Federal Register :: Boltless Steel Shelving Units Prepackaged for Sale From the People’s Republic of China: Final Results of the Expedited Second Sunset Review of the Countervailing Duty Order https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/08/04/2026-15742/boltless-steel-shelving-units-prepackaged-for-sale-from-the-peoples-republic-of-china-final-results
4. ↩ Federal Register :: Boltless Steel Shelving Units Prepackaged for Sale From China; Determinations https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/09/29/2026-19852/boltless-steel-shelving-units-prepackaged-for-sale-from-china-determinations
5. ↩ Federal Register :: Boltless Steel Shelving Units Prepackaged for Sale From China; Scheduling of Expedited Five-Year Reviews https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/08/12/2026-16390/boltless-steel-shelving-units-prepackaged-for-sale-from-china-scheduling-of-expedited-five-year