"We’re working very closely with the staff at the USTR [Office of the U.S. Trade Representative] on the best way to address this issue [to find] the most expeditious way to get this resolved," says Anne Craib, director of international trade and government affairs at the Semiconductor Industry Association. Craib notes that taking the case to the WTO for settlement would be a several-year process and might not be the best way to resolve the dispute. That said, she doesn’t rule out such an appeal as a final resort.

Bush has given China plenty of slack in the year and a half since the Asian nation joined the WTO. This partly reflects a sincere U.S. desire to encourage China to implement the numerous free-market commitments it made to secure a place in the WTO. Note that the Bush administration rejected two recommendations this year by the U.S. International Trade Commission to level antidumping duties on imports from China—one on a hydraulic component used in medical scooters and another on wire hangers.

More recently, our bilateral relations have focused on convincing China to pressure North Korea to halt nuclear weapons development. Trade issues with China moved to the back burner.

But some U.S. industries are losing patience. The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) is hammering at the Commerce Department and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative to take on China. Other industries adding their voices to the fray include pharmaceuticals, plastics, machine tools and furniture.

Over the past twenty years, our exports to China have increased an average of 12% per year while our imports from China have increased an average of 20% annually. If this trend continues for another five years, our trade deficit with China will reach $330 billion by 2008, up from $103 billion in 2002.

The administration's measured approach so far partly reflects divergent views within the U.S. corporate community about China. Though some companies—notably in textiles, apparel and steel—have long been advocating a get-tough strategy, others—ranging from General Electric to Black & Decker, from Procter & Gamble to Home Depot—have convinced Congress and the administration to tread softly. By and large, these companies are mainly interested in taking advantage of lower-cost production in China or establishing beachheads in the expanding Chinese market.

But the rise of outsourcing to China is costing small and midsize U.S. manufacturers their shirts as longtime U.S. clients cut orders from domestic sources and switch to Chinese suppliers. "Our largest customer just left," says Jim Zawacki, owner of GR Spring & Stamping of Grand Rapids, Michigan. "They're looking to purchase everything in China. This company represents 20% of our business."

The order drain to China sits poorly with both Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill, who are proving receptive to small firms’ complaints that China isn’t playing by WTO rules. "A lot of members of Congress are getting fed up because their constituents are losing business," says Rich Carter, spokesman for Rep. Donald Manzullo (R-IL), chairman of the House Small Business Committee.

Another key figure, Rep. Frank Wolf (R-VA), chairman of the House Subcommittee on Commerce-Justice-State Appropriations, is pressing the Bush administration to pursue claims against China more aggressively. "The committee has heard a number of accounts of the administration unfairly favoring Chinese businesses at the expense of American companies in dumping cases," Wolf said at the opening of last month’s hearing.

The Commerce Department, responding to criticism on Capitol Hill, is holding a series of roundtable meetings across the country with U.S. manufacturers to gauge their views on China. Grant Aldonas, under secretary for International Trade Administration, is heading up the effort, which will produce a report by the end of summer.

The NAM, meanwhile, is investigating complaints by members that China is subsidizing manufactures for export, which would be another violation of China’s WTO commitments. NAM will pursue the matter with the Commerce Department and the USTR once it has finished documenting the cases.