US presidential campaigns hits on China trade complaint

Subsidies to Chinese auto makers have become a flashpoint for verbal sparring as US presidential candidates campaign through the country’s industrial heartland, The Wall Street Journal reported. Speaking in Ohio on Monday, President Barack Obama announced his administration’s complaint to the WTO on what he called unfair trade practices. He claimed the subsidies do direct harm to US manufacturers. “It is not right. It is against the rules. And we will not let it stand,” he said. Republican challenger Mitt Romney has campaigned for weeks against Obama’s stance on China. The president has done “too little, too late,” Romney said, while also accusing China of cheating in the auto market. China’s trade practices are a leading cause of concern for US labor unions. The issue has become a central theme as the two candidates battle for votes from the industrial Midwest.