The US claimed that its trade deficit setting a record for the fifth consecutive year in 2006 at $765.3 billion (euro572.27 billion). The imbalance with China grew to $232.5 billion (euro173.86 billion) the highest ever with a single country.

Democrats, who won control of both the House and Senate last fall with campaigns that attacked President George W. Bush's trade policies, said Monday that tougher action was still needed.

Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown, called the timing of the new cases "certainly suspicious" given that they come when the administration is asking Congress to renew Bush's fast-track authority, which allows him to negotiate trade deals for expedited consideration by Congress.

Gary Hufbauer, a trade expert at the Peterson Institute, a Washington think tank, said that the new get-tough approach is an effort by the administration to regain control of the trade debate now that Democrats are in control of Congress.

The decision to go to the WTO with the two new trade cases will trigger a 60-day consultation period during which trade negotiators from both countries will try to resolve the two disputes.

If that fails, WTO hearing panels would be convened. If the US wins the cases, it would be allowed to impose penalty economic sanctions on Chinese products.

In a statement, the Motion Picture Association of America and the Recording Industry Association of America both applauded the administration's action.

In late March, the US government announced its decision to impose penalty tariffs against the imports of Chinese coated free sheet paper, a decision altering a 23-year old bipartisan policy of not applying the countervailing duty (CVD) law to China.

The Chinese government responded strongly in a statement of the Department of Commerce, saying such an decision "goes against the consensus reached between leaders of the two countries to resolve contradictions through dialogues."

"China strongly requires the US side to reconsider the decision and make prompt changes," the statement said.

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