No L 306/16 Official Journal of the European Communities 11. 12. 93 COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 3386/93 of 6 December 1993 imposing a definitive anti-dumping duty on imports of dead-burned (sintered) magnesia originating in the People’s Republic of China THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European 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 Community ('), and in particular Article 12 thereof, Having regard to the proposal from the Commission, submitted after consultation within the Advisory Committee as provided under the above Regulation, Whereas : A. Provisional measures (1) The Commission, by Regulation (EEC) No 2799/92(), imposed a provisional anti- dumping duty on imports of dead-burned (sintered) magnesia originating in the People’s Republic of China and falling within CN code 2519 90 30, hereafter referred to as ‘dead-burned magnesite’. B. Subsequent procedure ()  Following the imposition of the provisional anti- dumping duty, five Chinese exporters and some independent importers requested and were granted an opportunity to be heard by the Commission. They also made written submissions making known their views on the findings as did other independent importers, some end users and the Chinese authorities. (3)  Parties were also informed of the essential facts and considerations on the basis of which it was intended to recommend the imposition of defini- tive duties. They were also granted a period within which they could make representations subsequent to these disclosures. 4y  The oral and written comments submitted by the parties were considered and, where appropriate, the Commission’s findings were modified to take account of them. () OJ No L 209, 2. 8. 1988, p. 1. () O No L 282, 26. 9. 1992, p. 15. O 6) Ny C. Product under consideration — Like product Certain - Chinese exporters, independent importers and end users have repeated the argument that dead-burned magnesite originating in the Commu- nity and elsewhere is not a like product to that originating in the People’s Republic of China. In this respect, the Chinese exporters proposed that an independent technical expert be appointed by the Commission to determine the question of whether or not Chinese dead-burned magnesite is a ‘like product’ to any other dead-burned magnesite, in terms of the quality of its mineral deposits, the extracting and processing methods, its chemical and physical characteristics and the application of the final product. The Commission accepts that an independent expert may provide factual information as to any such differences between Chinese dead-burned magnesite and that from other sources. The exis- tence of these differences is, however, accepted by the Community institutions. It is also not contested that these differences do not alter the fact that the basic physical and chemical characteristics of all types of dead-burned magnesite are identical. Only if these basic physical and technical characteristics were to be different, could it be considered that the different types of dead-burned magnesite are not similar products. The fact that dead-burned magne- site from whatever source can be used interchan- geably by end users confirms that it is a like product. It was thus not considered necessary to appoint such an expert for these reasons and for those given in recitals 10, 11 and 12 of Regulation (EEC) No 2799/92. The Council confirms these findings and conclu- sions. D. Dumping (a) Reference country In Regulation (EEC) No 2799/92 the Commission found' that Turkey was an appropriate reference country for the determination of normal value for the People’s Republic of China. After the imposi- tion of provisional duties some of the exporters objected to the use of Turkey as a reference country and proposed Czechoslovakia as being more appro-