THE US will challenge Chinese import duties imposed on its vehicles in a counter-strike timed to coincide with Barack Obama’s tour of manufacturing states that will be pivotal in the presidential election.
The “enforcement action” allows the US to demand formal consultations with China at the World Trade Organisation in Geneva.
Mitt Romney, Mr Obama’s Republican challenger, has accused him of not standing up to China on trade.
Mr Obama told crowds in Ohio: “As long as we are competing on a fair playing field, we are doing just fine – and I am going to make sure the competition is fair.”
China’s rise is an important election factor in industrial states, where it is often depicted as an unfair trader that is hollowing out local manufacturing.
In a television advertisement tailored for Ohio last month, Mr Romney promised to declare Beijing “a currency manipulator” on his first day in office.
Both Ohio and neighbouring Michigan depend on the car industry, large parts of which were rescued by the administration in 2009. Mr Romney opposed the bailout of General Motors and Chrysler, saying they should have gone through bankruptcy procedures for private companies. Mr Obama’s administration argues that no private money was available at the time.
The US maintains that China imposed the import duties without sufficient evidence of wrongdoing and has not substantiated claims of injury to its industry.
