The Union commerce ministry has proposed June 23 as the date for pre-initiation consultations with the European Union on alleged subsidies on stainless steel fine wires. The following day the EU begins hearing the anti-subsidy complaint against Indian stainless steel bright bars.

Meanwhile, steel exporters have resolved to build infrastructure to tackle anti-dumping and anti-subsidy cases abroad. Indian steel exporters face anti-dumping charges in the European Union, Canada and the United States, apart from anti-subsidy charges in the EU.

All the three anti-subsidy cases against Indian steel exports have been lodged by EUROFER, a club of Community steel producers.

The European Community club of 18 steel producers has lodged two complaints, one against stainless steel fine wires of one millimitrewidth and the second against finer grades of the same item.

The European steel-makers had earlier initiated similar proceedings against stainless steel bright bars. The EU Commission will hear the anti-subsidy case against stainless steel bright bars on June 24.

The centre has already engaged Brussels-based attorneys, Van Bael and Bellis, to defend the case against Indian stainless steel fine wire exports. The attorneys are also defending the antibiotics case.

The European Union is treating all the concessions made available to Indian exporters in the Income Tax Act and the Exim Policy as subsidies.

The Union commerce ministry, however, considers these schemes as `GATT compatible'.

Sections 10 A and 10 B of the

Income Tax Act allow tax holidays to export oriented units and export promotion zones, for the first five years after inception. Section 80 HHC completely exempts export profits from tax.

The Exim Policy allows exporters to claim duty drawbacks through the Duty Entitlement PassbookScheme (DEPB) and the export promotion scheme for capital goods imports (EPECG).

Should the initial consultations with the EU on the anti-subsidy complaint against stainless steel fine wires fail on June 23, the centre intends to hire legal services for that case too.

Meanwhile, dumping duties overshadowed the first business meeting of the Steel Exporters' Forum last week.

The country's key steel producers resolved to `develop infrastructure,' build a data base and a system for gathering market intelligence, to be able to fight anti-dumping and anti-subsidy cases abroad. Apart from representatives of the Union ministries of steel, commerce, and finance and industry associations, the forum comprises nine major steel companies. Club members include the SAIL, Tata Steel, Essar Steel, the Ispat group of companies, the Jindal group of companies, the Usha India group of companies and Lloyds Steel.Mukand Steel, which faces anti-dumping duties in the European Union, Canada and the US, is not a member of theforum.

Mukand Steel chief and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) chairman Rajesh Shah attended the industry interface with the commerce ministry on anti-dumping and anti-subsidy.