LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - Obama says that he will be taking the case to the World Trade Organization.

"Today, my administration is launching a new action against China, this one against illegal subsidies that encourage companies to ship auto parts manufacturing jobs overseas," President Obama said. "These are subsidies that directly harm working men and women on the assembly lines in Ohio and Michigan and across the Midwest."

The U.S. Trade Representative has filed a complaint with the organization, saying that China has given "extensive subsidies" to Chinese companies that produce autos and parts for export.

Further action is being taken by U.S. trade officials say they are also taking in another case filed earlier this year against Chinese duties on American auto exports. The president announced that case in a previous campaign trip to Ohio.

Obama strongly criticized his Republican opponent, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney's business experience in Cincinnati.

Bain Capital, the company Romney founded, invested in some companies that "outsourced," or shifted jobs out of the United States. The president called Bain's leaders "pioneers in outsourcing."

"He made money investing in companies that uprooted from here and went to China. 'Pioneers.' Now, Ohio, you cannot stand up to China when all you have done is sent them our jobs."

Not one to take this lying down, Romney responded at a business gathering in Los Angeles, California.

"Now, the president may think that announcing new trade lawsuits, less than two months before the election, will distract from his record," Romney said. "But American businesses and workers struggling on an uneven playing field know better. If I had known that all it took to get him to take action was to run an ad, citing his inaction on China's cheating, I would have run one a long time ago."

Romney has been highly critical of the president's performance on the China trade issue, and he has promised tougher action to enforce trade laws.

There are 49 days remaining before the election, many public opinion surveys show Obama with a slight lead nationwide.

The president leads Romney by as many as seven percentage points in Ohio, a state many analysts say will play a key role in determining the outcome of the November 6 election.

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