A study by a liberal Washington-based think tank estimates that the growing U.S. trade deficit with China resulted in the loss of 4,100 jobs in Hawai'i from 2001 through 2007.

The jobs were lost in a range of sectors, particularly the hotel and restaurant industries, according to the report released by the Economic Policy Institute.

The report was cited by the Alliance for American Manufacturing, which maintains that the U.S. companies and their workers have been negatively affected by the increased trade with China since that country's entry into the World Trade Organization in 2001.

"Our flawed trade relationship with China is destroying good jobs in Hawai'i," said Scott Paul, executive director of the Alliance for American Manufacturing. "All manufacturing is facing a critical challenge, as we know, but what may surprise many people is how hard workers in advanced technology are being affected," he said.