Presidential Candidate Barack Obama campaigned against imports from China and "for" American workers.  Yet President Barack Obama has maintained that protectionism in any form would be a mistake.  Even though he has already broken that promise, today marks a critical decision that determines American trade policy with one of its most important trade partners.  Which Obama will emerge?

The only way the American people -- and the global economy -- will win is if Obama bats away the calls from the protectionists at home.  But those protectionists are one of the biggest contributors to Obama's politcal party.  Will President Obama turn against his own people to placate a minority, or will he prioritise the American economy?

Obama must decide today whether to slap a punitive tariff on steel pipes imported from China.  He must also decide on 17 September whether to heed the calls of an American Steelworkers Union, who are lobbying for the President to increase duties paid by Chinese tire manufacturers, who the Steelworkers Union say are risking American tire-workers jobs.

These decisions set the stage for American trade policy over the next four years. 

“These are decisions that can’t be avoided, so they’ll be perceived as setting the tone for what the Obama administration trade policy is,” said Timothy Keeler, the former chief of staff for the U.S. Trade Representative’s office.

The decisions will also shape future of U.S.-China commercial relations. The Americans and the Chinese traded more than $400 billion last year, making the Chinese the second-largest U.S. trading partner after Canada. China is also the largest foreign holder of U.S. debt, with $776.4 billion.

This Bloomberg article has the details.