Washington, February 17:

The Bush administration defended the way it is dealing with the soaring trade deficit with China, but influential lawmakers released their own proposal to put more muscle into the fight.

US trade representative Rob Portman told the Senate Finance Committee that America’s relationship with China had entered a new phase that would mark Beijing’s growing responsibilities as a major trading power.

On Tuesday, Portman said he was creating a special trade enforcement task force and pledged ‘rigorous enforcement’ of laws aimed at curbing unfair trade practices. The government reported last week that the US trade deficit with China hit $202 billion last year, the largest ever with a single country and a 25 per cent increase from the 2004 deficit. Senators questioned whether the administration was going far enough in approach with China.

The committee chairman, Republican Senator Charles Grassley of Iowa, said there was rampant copyright piracy of US products and that he had grown ‘increasingly frustrated’ over China’s currency policies.

American manufacturers contend China is depressing the value of its currency by as much as 40 per cent, making Chinese goods cheaper in US markets and American goods costlier in China. Senator Max Baucus said he was concerned that when Portman’s office pushed

for trade cases, it often was overruled by the State Department, which argued that a get-tough approach on economic issues would harm US foreign policy interests.