Brussels, 14/04/2010 (Agence Europe) - On 13 April, the European Commission tabled a draft regulation to extend the anti-dumping duties put in place under Regulation 1858/2005/EC on imports of steel cables from inter alia China, shipped through South Korea to get round EU customs duties and to close the investigation on imports from Malaysia. The investigation launched by the Commission in August 2009 revealed that shipments of steel cables from China transited through South Korea en route for Europe, thereby evading certain duties. It failed, however, to demonstrate any tax evasion for goods shipped from Malaysia. In 1999, the Commission imposed duties of up to 60.4% on imports of steel cables from China after a trade body complained that they were being sold very cheaply on the European market. Following the adoption of these measures, steel cable imports from China virtually dried up, while imports from South Korea increased significantly, from 11,123 tonnes to 48,214 tonnes between 1999 and 2008. (E.H./transl.rt)