18.2.98 Official Journal of the European Communities L 47/1 (Acts whose publication is obligatory) COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 368/98 of 16 February 1998 imposing a definitive anti-dumping duty on imports of glyphosate originating in the People’s Republic of China and collecting definitively the provisional duty imposed 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 9(4) thereof, Having regard to the proposal submitted by the Commis- sion after consulting the Advisory Committee, Whereas: A. PROVISIONAL MEASURES (1) By Commission Regulation (EC) No 1731/97 (3 (hereinafter referred to as the ‘Provisional Duty Regulation’) provisional anti-dumping duties were imposed on imports of glyphosate falling within CN codes ex 2931 00 80 and ex 3808 30 27 origin- ating in the People’s Republic of China. B. SUBSEQUENT PROCEDURE ) Following the imposition of the provisional anti- dumping measures, a number of interested parties submitted comments in writing. (3)  Importers in the Community, Chinese exporters, and both complainant Community producers requested and were granted a hearing. 4) The Commission continued to seek and verify all information deemed necessary for its definitive findings. (5) Parties were informed of the essential facts and considerations on the basis of which it was intended to recommend the imposition of defin- itive anti-dumping duties and the definitive collec- (") OJ L 56, 6. 3. 1996, p. 1. Regulation as amended by Regula- tion (EC) No 2331/96 (OJ L 317, 6. 12. 1996, p. 1). () OJ L 243, 5. 9. 1997, p. 7. (6 tion 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 interested parties were considered, and, where deemed appropriate, taken into account in the Commission’s definitive findings. C. PRODUCT UNDER CONSIDERATION AND LIKE PRODUCT 1. Product under consideration As stated in recital 10 of the Provisional Duty Regulation, the product under consideration is glyphosate. This product can be produced in different grades or forms of concentration of which the main ones are the following: formulated (generally with 36 % glyphosate content), salt (with 62 %), cake (with 84 %) and acid (95 %). In order to reduce the costs of transportation, distributors normally purchase glyphosate in a concentrated form (usually acid, but also salt) and further process it to obtain the formulated gly- phosate, the only form that can be used as an end-product, i.e. as a non-selective herbicide. The Chinese exporters and a number of importers in the Community claimed that the various forms of glyphosate referred to above could not be considered as one product because they presented substantial differences in cost terms, customer structure, price and end-use. One importer argued, in particular, that the transformation of acid into formulated glyphosate required further chemical processing and that the resulting formulated product was of a different chemical composition