US wants talks on steel, IP piracy

Washington wants talks to avert a trade war over China's cheap steel exports, the Wall Street Journal reported. Undersecretary for International Trade Franklin Lavin met with top Chinese trade and economic-policy officials this week to push China to drop trade barriers to ease a record trade deficit. The US also asked for tougher intellectual property protection, which US businesses say is lax and hurts their exports. Lavin predicted growing tension when the US government releases 2005 trade figures in February showing the bilateral trade deficit at about $200 billion.