273,90 Official Journal of the:European Communities No L 80/9 COMMISSION REGULATION (EEC) No 720/90 of 22 March 1990 imposing a provisional anti-dumping duty on imports of silicon metal originating in the People’s Republic of China THE COMMISSION 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, After consultation with the Advisory Committee as provided for in- Regulation (EEC) No 2423/88, Whereas : A. PROCEDURE (1) In December 1988 the Commission received a complaint lodged by the Liaison Committee of Ferroalloy Industries in the European Economic Community on behalf of producers representing all Community production of silicon metal: and concerning imports of that product originating in China and imported from that country or from Hong Kong. ()  The complaint-contained evidence of dumping and consequent material injury which was judged suffi- cient to justify the initiation of a proceeding. In a notice published in the Official Journal of the European Communities (*) the Commission accor- dingly announced the- initiation of an anti- dumping proceeding concerning silicon metal falling within CN code 2804 69 00. (3 The Commission -officially advised the exporters and importers known to be concerned and the complainant and. gave the parties concerned the opportunity.to make their views known in writing. (4)  Only two exporters and a small number of impor- ters made their views known in writing. (5)  Only one processor made comments regarding the- possible imposition of an anti-dumping duty. 6) The Commission sought and verified all the infor-- mation it deemed necessary for the purposes of- making a.preliminary determination of dumping and consequent injury. It carried out inspections at the premises of : () OJ No L 209, 2. 8. 1988, p. 1. () OJ No C 26, 1. 2. 1989, p. 8. 9] ®) ®) (10) (a) all the Community producers: — Péchiney Electrométallurgie, Paris, France, — VAW — Vereinigte Aluminium-Werke AG, Bonn, Federal Republic of Germany, . — Carburos Metilicos, Barcelona, Spain, — Siderleghe Sri, Milan, Italy, — OET Calusco SpA, Milan; ; (b) the importer: — R. Hostombe Ltd, Kingdom. Sheffield,  United The dumping investigation covered the period 1~ January to 31 December 1988. The proceeding was extended owing to the difficulty in finding a reference -market. B. THE PRODUCT (i) Definition The product is silicon metal produced in an elec- tric arc furnace by reducing silicon quartz with the help of various carbonaceous products. It is marketed ‘in the form of lumps, grains or powder. There are internationally accepted. specifi- cations regarding differences in quality resulting from impurities — iron, aluminium and calcium. The product covered by this proceeding comes- exclusively from China, since silicon metal is not: produced in Hong Kong. (i) Like. product The same international technical specifications apply both to the imported product referred to in the complaint and to silicon metal produced in the Community. Despite some difference in purity and dimensions -between the Chinese product and the Community product, the physical characteristics of the products and their applications are essentially the same. The Community - product and the - imported product are therefore like products. The parties concerned have not put forward any argu- ments on this point. C. NORMAL VALUE Since China does not have a market economy and since the product in question is not manufactured in Hong Kong, the complainant suggested compa- ring export prices with prices or costs in a similar country, particularly the United States. However,