The United States had sent several 'soft warnings' to the Indian steel industry recently after exports of galvanised products to the country saw a substantial increase in 2002-03.
Official sources said the US might even initiate measures to safeguard its domestic steel industry if exports increased during this financial year.
At present, there are no restrictions on the import of galvanised products in the US. Though the US has not issued any official notification to India as yet, it is keeping a close watch on Indian exports.
"This is a major cause for concern for the Indian industry as it will jeopardise the export businesses significantly," a senior government official told Business Standard.
India exported a total of over 2.5 million tonnes of finished steel during 2002-03.
Industry experts said India did not export any galvanised items prior to 2002.
Analysts said if the US economy failed to recover in the next few months, it might impose restrictions on steel imports. Representatives of the Indian steel industry said GP/GC sheets were not locally produced in the US.
Industry experts added that India had not exported much of hot rolled products to the US.
"We have restricted ourselves to the export limits set by the US government but the number is larger due to the export of galvanised products, which is not produced locally," an industry expert said.
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