Romney held a roundtable discussion on manufacturing with business leaders at American Spring Wire's headquarters in Bedford Heights, Ohio as part of his campaign's three-day bus tour across the Buckeye State.

The same company, along with two steel wire companies from North Carolina and Tennessee, petitioned the government on May 27, 2009 to look into a trade issue, arguing that Chinese firms were selling steel wire products in the U.S. at less than normal value. On June 17, 2009, the Department of Commerce announced a decision to start investigating the problem.

A year later, the International Trade Administration, a division within the Commerce Department, announced it was ordering an "antidumping" duty on "prestressed concrete steel wire" strands from China. It also announced a countervailing duty, aimed to counter subsidized products coming from other countries.

As part of the order, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers were instructed to suspend liquidation on the merchandise from China and "require cash deposits equal to the estimated amount by which the normal value exceeds the U.S. price," according to a Commerce statement issuing the order at the time.

The department regularly issues antidumping and countervailing duty orders on products being imported at unfair prices-a policy in place before Obama took office. Under his administration, more than 53 such orders have been issued, 39 of which have been against China...

...Obama, meanwhile, has been trying to bolster his stance against China. Last week, the president announced his administration filed its eighth trade complaint against China with the World Trade Organization, claiming the country illegally subsidizes automotive exports and undercut American suppliers.

His campaign released a web video Wednesday, criticizing Romney for talking tough on China but not hesitating to make money off Chinese companies in the past.