WASHINGTON - The US International Trade Commission (ITC) on Friday approved anti-dumping and countervailing investigations on imports of boltless steel shelving prepackaged for sale from China, paving the way for the Department of Commerce to set preliminary duties in the months ahead.

The trade panel voted in the affirmative that there was a reasonable indication that a US industry was materially injured by imports of these products, the ITC said in a statement.

Boltless steel shelving is used for storage purposes in homes, garages, offices, and commercial and industrial operations.

The US Department of Commerce will continue the investigations launched on Sept 16 on imports of these products and is expected to make its preliminary countervailing duty determination on Nov 19, 2014 and its anti-dumping duty determination on Feb 2, 2015.

The investigations are in response to a request from Edsal Manufacturing Company based in the state of Illinois. The company said the products from China were sold below the fair value of the products in the US market with dumping margin of 40 percent to 211 percent, and Chinese producers and exporters also received improper government subsidies.

Imports of these products from China were estimated at about $1.97 billion last year, according to US official data.

The move is the latest in a string of trade measures targeting imports of other countries, arousing concerns that protectionism is again on the rise in the United States. Beijing has repeatedly urged Washington to honor its commitment against protectionism and work with China to maintain a free, open and just trade environment.