17.8.1999 Official Journal of the European Communities L217/1 (Acts whose publication is obligatory) COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 1796/1999 of 12 August 1999 imposing a definitive anti-dumping duty, and collecting definitively the provisional duty imposed, on imports of steel ropes and cables originating in the People's Republic of China, Hungary, India, Mexico, Poland, South Africa and Ukraine and terminating the anti-dumping proceeding in respect of imports originating in the Republic of Korea THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 384/96 of 22 December 1995 on protection against dumped imports from countries not members of the European Community (!), and in particular Articles 9 and 10(2) thereof, Having regard to the proposal submitted by the Commission after consulting the Advisory Committee, Whereas: (3) A. PROVISIONAL MEASURES By Regulation (EC) No 362/1999 (3 (hereinafter referred to as the ‘provisional Regulation’) the Commission imposed a provisional anti-dumping duty on imports into the Community of steel ropes and cables origin- ating in the People's Republic of China (PRC), India, Mexico, South Africa and the Ukraine and accepted undertakings offered by certain exporters in Hungary and Poland. B. SUBSEQUENT PROCEDURE Following the imposition of provisional anti-dumping duties, the interested parties which so requested were granted an opportunity to be heard. Parties were informed of the essential facts and considerations on the basis of which it was intended to recommend the impo- sition of a definitive anti-dumping duty and the defin- itive collection, at the level of these duties, of amounts secured by way of provisional duties. They were also granted a period within which to make representations subsequent to this disclosure. The oral and written comments submitted by the inter- ested parties were considered and, where deemed appro- (") OJ L 56, 6.3.1996, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 905/98 (O] L 128, 30.4.1998, p. 18). () O] L 45, 19.2.1999, p. 1. priate, the definitive findings have been changed accord- ingly. C. PRODUCT UNDER CONSIDERATION AND LIKE PRODUCT 1. Product under consideration It is to be recalled that recital 7 of the provisional Regulation described the product concerned as steel ropes and cables, including locked coil ropes, excluding ropes and cables of stainless steel, with a maximum cross-sectional dimension exceeding 3 mm (hereinafter, using industry terminology, referred to as steel wire ropes or ‘SWR)). It has been alleged that SWR should be divided into two separate products according to what has been described as two distinct areas of application or use, i.e. general purpose ropes for general applications and special purpose ropes for use in specific industries. Contrary to the allegation of the existence of two different separate products, ie. general purpose ropes and special purpose ropes, it was found that SWR were produced in a wide range of different types by the exporting producers and that all SWR had the same basic physical characteristics (i.e. the steel wires that form strands, the strands that are wrapped around the core that form the rope and the core itself]. All SWR were also found to have the same basic technical charac- teristics (all have a number of wires in a strand, a number of strands in a rope, a certain diameter and a certain construction). The various types of SWR can be classified into a number of product groups reflecting their physical and technical characteristics. While SWR in groups in the top end and in the bottom end of the range are clearly not interchangeable, SWR in adjoining groups have been found to be interchangeable. It was concluded that a certain degree of overlapping and competition existed