US steel pipe producers urged President George W. Bush to restrict imports of competing products from China through a special mechanism that he has declined to use before.

With the US trade deficit with China expected to set a new record above $200 billion this year, a decision by Bush to restrict the imports could encourage a number of other manufacturers to seek similar action.

Executives from steel pipe producing companies told a Bush administration panel they could not compete against a glut of low-priced imports from China.

Wheatland Tube Company, the largest American manufacturer of the pipes, already has been forced to lay off 250 workers at plants in Pennsylvania, Ohio and Arkansas, said Mark Magno, the company's vice president for marketing.

"Without very significant ... relief that dramatically reduces Chinese imports and allows us to increase production, we will be forced to permanently shut down the Sharon, (Pennsylvania) plant with the loss of 300 additional jobs," Magno said.

The industry wants Bush to curb imports of circular welded non-alloy steel pipes from China to no more than 90,000 tons per year, compared to 267,468 tons in 2004 and an estimated 370,000 tons this year.

The pipes targeted in the case range in diameter from 0.372 inches (9.45 mm) to 16 inches (406.4 mm). Some uses include plumbing and heating systems, air conditioning units, automatic sprinkler systems, conduit shells for electrical wiring and the construction of bridges and buildings.

The US International Trade Commission voted 4-2 in October that higher imports of steel pipe from China threatened to disrupt the domestic market.

The vote requires Bush to decide by around Dec. 30 what, if any, relief to provide.

Two of the ITC commissioners recommended a quota of 160,000 tons for three years. Two others proposed a tariff-rate quota beginning at 267,468 tons in the first year and increasing 5 percent in the second year and 10 percent in the third.

The industry asked for relief under a special provision of Beijing's accession to the World Trade Organization, which allows countries to restrict manufactured goods imports from China in response to a surge.

The Bush administration has used a similar measure to curb imports of clothing and textile goods from China.

But Bush has turned down several requests for relief under a more general provision available to manufacturers such as the steel pipe producers. In those cases, Bush has said it was not in the national interest to impose curbs. (Reuters)