29.9.2000 Official Journal of the European Communities L 244(33 COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 2041/2000 of 26 September 2000 amending Regulation (EC) No 5/96 imposing definitive anti-dumping duties on imports of micro- wave ovens originating in the People's Republic of China, the Republic of Korea, Malaysia and Thailand 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 Article 11(3) thereof, Having regard to the proposal submitted by the Commission after consulting the Advisory Committee, Whereas: A. PROCEDURE 1. Previous procedure (1)  Following an investigation initiated in December 1993 (hereinafter referred to as the ‘original investigation)) under Article 7 of Regulation (EEC) No 2423/1988 (3), the Council imposed definitive anti-dumping duties in January 1996, pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 5/96 (%), on imports of microwave ovens (MWOs’) originating, inter alia, in the Republic of Korea. The duties applied to all Korean exporting producers and ranged from 3,3 % to 24,4 %. (20 In December 1996, the Commission initiated an invest- igation into whether these duties had been absorbed by the exporting producers (¥). Commission Decision 98| 225/EC (°) terminated this review, however, in March 1998 without changing the anti-dumping measures in force. 2. Request for a review (3) A request for a partial interim review of the anti- dumping duty in force against it was made in February 1999 by the Korean exporting producer, LG Electronics Inc. The request was limited in scope to an examination of whether the continued imposition of the duty at its current level was necessary to offset dumping for the company concerned. (4)  The company alleged that the circumstances had changed significantly in its particular case subsequent to the imposition of the original measure due to, inter alia, reductions in its manufacturing costs leading to lower () OJ L 56, 6.3.1996, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 905/98 (OJ L 128, 30.4.1998, p. 18). () O] L 209, 2.8.1988, p. 1. () O] L 2, 4.1.1996, p. 1. () O] C 19, 18.1.1997, p. 3. () O] L 85, 20.3.1998, p. 29. normal values and that this had led to a situation where the duty was no longer necessary to offset dumping. The company also claimed that the lower costs were the result of structural changes of a lasting nature and that there would be no likelihood of dumping recurring in the future. 3. Investigation (5)  Having determined, after consulting the Advisory Committee, that the evidence was sufficient, the Commission initiated a partial interim review (%) (herein- after referred to as ‘the review’), pursuant to Article 11(3) of Regulation (EC) No 384/96 (hereinafter referred to as the ‘basic Regulation’). (6)  This notice also allowed other exporting producers in Korea to request a review of their rates of anti-dumping duty, provided that they could submit, within the dead- line specified therein, sufficient evidence that the continued imposition of the duty imposed against them at the current level was no longer necessary to offset dumping. (7 Only one Korean exporting producer, Daewoo Electro- nics Co. Ltd, made such a request within the deadline and submitted the prima facie evidence required. Accordingly, this company was admitted to the review. (8)  The Commission also officially advised the repres- entative association of the producers in the Community of the initiation of the review and the representatives of the exporting country. All parties directly concerned were given the opportunity to make their views known in writing and to request a hearing within the time limit set in the notice of initiation. (9)  In order to obtain the information deemed necessary for its investigation and for the purposes of determining whether dumping was likely to continue or recur, the Commission sent questionnaires to the two Korean exporting producers concerned and, where appropriate, to their subsidiaries in the Community. (10)  Visits to verify the replies to the questionnaires were carried out at the premises of the following companies: Producers in the Republic of Korea: — LG Electronics Inc, Seoul (LGE) — Daewoo Electronics Co. Ltd, Seoul (DWE) () O] C 167, 15.6.1999, p. 5.