24. 10. 92 Official Journal of the European Communities No L 308/41 - COUNCIL REGULATION (EEC) No 3068/92 of 23 October 1992 imposing a definitive anti-dumping duty on imports of potassium chloride originating in Belarus, Russia or Ukraine THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 2423/88 of 11 July 1988 on protection against dumped or subsi- dized imports from Countries not members of the Euro- pean Economic Community ('), and in particular Article 11 thereof, » Having regard to the proposal presented by the Commis- sion after consultation within the Advisory Committee as provided for in that Regulation, Whereas : A. PROVISIONAL MEASURES (1) By Regulation (EEC) No 1031/92 (3, the Commis- sion imposed a provisional anti-dumping duty on imports into the Community of potassium chloride originating in Belarus, Russia or Ukraine. By Regu- lation (EEC) No 2442/92 (°) the Council extended this duty for a period ot exceeding two months. B. SUBSEQUENT PROCEDURE (2 Following the imposition of the provisional anti- dumping duty, the Belarussian, Russian and Ukrai- nian exporters, the Community producers and certain importers requested and were granted a hearing by the Commission. They also submitted comments in writing. (3)  The parties’ oral and written comments were consi- dered, and the Commission altered its conclusions accordingly where necessary. () OJ No L 209, 2. 8. 1988, p. 1. ) O] No L 110, 28. 4. 1992, p. S. 9 O] No L 243, 25. 8. 1992, p. 1. @ (L 6) This investigation was not concluded within the period specified in Article 7 (9) (a) of Regulation (EEC) No 2423/88 owing to the complexity of the proceedings, particularly the detailed checking of the many figures and arguments put forward. C. PRODUCT, LIKE PRODUCT The product which is the target of the proceeding is potassium chloride or potash muriate (termed ‘potash’), and is usually used as an agricultural ferti- lizer. Information gathered during the Investigation shows that potash is available in two grades : ‘stan- dard’ (powder) or ‘granulated’ (granules). As explained in recitals 8 to 10 of Regulation (EEC) No 1031/92, the potassium content (expressed as the percentage of the weight of the dry anhydrous product represented by K,O) of both grades varies. Each grade has three different specifications : K,0 content of 40 % or less, K,O content of between 40 and 62 %, and K,O content of over 62 %. The three specifications correspond to CN codes 3104 20 10, 3104 20 50 and 3104 20 90. For the purposes of the preliminary conclusions, the ‘over 62 %’ specification was disregarded, for the reasons given in recital 10 of Regulation (EEC) No 1031/92. Following the hearings conducted after the publica- tion of Regulation (EEC) No 1031/92, the Commission decided to take the ‘over 62 %’ speci- fication into account for its final findings, as it emerged from the information gathered that although this specification was most often used in pharmaceuticals and industry its physical and chemical characteristics were largely identical to the specifications with a lower potassium content, and it could therefore be used in their place. The Commission therefore considered the different grades and specifications of potash to be one and the same product. :