L 159/14 Official Journal of the European Union 20.6.2007 COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 682/2007 of 18 June 2007 imposing a definitive anti-dumping duty and collecting definitively the provisional duty imposed on imports of certain prepared or preserved sweetcorn in kernels originating in Thailand THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 38496 of 22 December 1995 on protection against dumped imports from countries not members of the European Community (') (the ‘basic Regulation’) and in particular Article 9 thereof, Having regard to the proposal submitted by the Commission after consulting the Advisory Committee, Whereas: A. PROVISIONAL MEASURES On 28 March 2006, the Commission published a notice (3 initiating an anti-dumping proceeding on imports into the Community of certain prepared or preserved sweetcorn in kernels originating in Thailand. On 20 December 2006, the Commission, by Regulation (EC) No 18882006 (}) (the provisional Regulation) imposed a provisional anti-dumping duty on imports of the same product. B. SUBSEQUENT PROCEDURE Subsequent to the disclosure of the essential facts and considerations on the basis of which it was decided to impose provisional anti-dumping measures, several interested parties made written submissions making their views known on the provisional findings. The parties who so requested were granted an opportunity to be heard. A meeting pursuant to Article 6(6) of the basic Regulation among one exporting producer, an Association of Thai producers, the Thai Government and the Community producers took place on 9 February 2007 at the Commission premises. The meeting was devoted to the issue of competition on the Community market for sweetcorn. () OJ L 56, 6.3.1996, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 2117/2005 (OJ L 340, 23.12.2005, p. 17). ) ) 0J 0 C 75, 28.3.2006, p. 6. L 364, 20.12.2006, p. 68. (3) The Commission continued to seek and verify all infor- mation it deemed necessary for the definitive findings. All parties were informed of the essential facts and considerations on the basis of which it was intended to recommend the imposition of a definitive anti-dumping duty on imports of certain prepared or preserved sweetcorn in kernels originating in Thailand and the definitive collection of the amounts secured by way of the provisional duty. Parties were also granted a period within which to make representations subsequent to the disclosure of the essential facts and considerations on the basis of which definitive measures are imposed. The oral and written comments submitted by the interested parties were considered and, where appro- priate, the findings have been modified accordingly. It is recalled that the investigation of dumping and injury covered the period from 1 January 2005 to 31 December 2005 (investigation period’ or ‘IP’). With respect to the trends relevant for the injury assessment, the Commission analysed data covering the period from 1 January 2002 to 31 December 2005 (period considered). The period used for the findings on undercutting, under- selling and injury elimination is the aforementioned IP. C. PRODUCT CONCERNED AND LIKE PRODUCT In the absence of any comments concerning the product concerned and like product, recitals 13 to 15 of the provisional Regulation are hereby confirmed. D. DUMPING 1. Sampling and individual examination A number of exporters and an association of Thai producers raised objections to the sampling and indi- vidual examination assessment described in recitals 16 to 20 of the provisional Regulation. In particular, it was claimed that the sample was not representative since the Commission disregarded other factors such as the size of the companies and their geographical location. Furthermore, it was claimed that it would not have been unduly burdensome to investigate more companies than the four sampled.