President Obama will announce a new trade complaint against China on his bus tour in Ohio Thursday, an important issue in the manufacturing-heavy state, reports the Toledo Blade.
In an appearance in suburban Toledo Thursday morning, Obama will make reference to the fact that the United States is filing a complaint with the World Trade Organization alleging that China imposed illegal duties on $3.3 billion worth of U.S. auto imports, including the Toledo-made Jeep Wrangler.
Getting tough on trade with China is one of Mitt Romney’s major talking points, while ads from the Obama campaign have argued that all Mitt Romney has done in regards to China is outsource jobs there.
The Blade has background on issue:
The enforcement action aims to force China to rescind the duties it placed disproportionately on General Motors Co. and Chrysler Group LLC imports because of the 2009 taxpayer rescue of the auto industry.
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China in December imposed anti-dumping and countervailing duties on certain SUVs, claiming that U.S. taxpayer support of the two automakers amounted to a government subsidy that was illegal under WTO rules. The Obama Administration disputes that claim.