WASHINGTON (Reuters) – After a slow start that has frustrated U.S. business groups, the next four months could be important to President Barack Obama’s legacy on trade.

Obama has a goal of doubling U.S. exports by 2014 but he has not moved as aggressively as his Republican predecessor, George W. Bush, to open markets abroad.

This month business groups expect Obama at long last to submit three Bush-era free trade pacts with South Korea, Colombia and Panama to Congress for approval.

“We’re quite confident” that Congress has the votes needed to approve the pact, said Frank Vargo, vice president for international economic affairs at the National Association of Manufacturers.

Successful passage by Congress would burnish Obama’s free trade credentials and boost talks on a regional free trade agreement that the White House hopes will establish “21st Century” trade rules in the fast-growing Asia-Pacific region.

The plan is for Obama and leaders of the eight other “Trans-Pacific Partnership” countries to shake hands on the broad outlines of a deal in November when the United States hosts the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit.

The proposed pact would build existing U.S. free trade deals with Australia, Chile, Singapore and Peru into a regional free trade pact that includes Malaysia, Vietnam, New Zealand and Brunei Darussalam.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – When the leaders of the world’s two biggest economies meet in Hawaii three months from now, U.S. President Barack Obama will still be able to brag to Chinese President Hu Jintao that the United States has more big companies than any other nation on the planet.

In Fortune magazine’s 2011 list of the 500 largest companies, the United States leads with 133, four more than Japan’s 68 and China’s 61 combined.

But a glance back at the 2005 list would give Hu more of a reason to smile. That year China had just 16 companies in the top 500 and the United States had 176, including at least one, Lehman Brothers, no longer around.

Given China’s rapid economic growth and its push for Chinese enterprises to “go global,” former Deputy Treasury Secretary Robert Kimmitt said it is certain the number of big Chinese companies will continue to rise.

But what American business finds disturbing is that most of the Chinese companies are state-owned, including the three in Fortune’s Top Ten — China Petroleum and Chemical Corp (also known as Sinopec) (600028.SS: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), China National Petroleum CNPET.UL and State Grid STGRD.UL, which says it supplies energy to over 1 billion Chinese consumers.

“A new dynamic in the world economy threatens the competitiveness of American companies and workers in world markets and undermines our country’s core belief in market-based economy,” the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Coalition of Services Industries said in a joint report.

“No adequate and effective international disciplines now exist to deal with this problem,” the groups added, complaining that China and other countries lavish regulatory favors and generous subsidies on their state-owned firms.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Republican lawmakers fumed on Monday over potential lost American exports because of a free trade deal between Canada and Colombia that has taken force before President Barack Obama has even sent a five-year-old U.S.-Colombia agreement to Congress for a vote.

“Today’s entry into force of the trade agreement between Canada and Colombia means that — for no good reason — U.S. workers and exporters are now disadvantaged in Colombia, a key export market for American-made goods and services,” said House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp.

“Our trade agreement with Colombia was signed in 2006, years before Canada and Colombia even began their negotiations … Once again, I urgently call on the President to send the job-creating trade agreements with Colombia, Panama and South Korea to Congress without further delay,” Camp said in a statement.

Senator Orrin Hatch, the top Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, echoed Camp’s demand that Obama quickly send the pacts to Capitol Hill.

“The longer this administration delays the further our economy falls behind,” Hatch said, noting U.S. exporters have already paid over $3.5 billion in tariffs on U.S. exports to Colombia since the pact, which would eliminate most of those duties, was signed.

Carol Guthrie, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Trade Representative’s Office, said Obama wanted lawmakers to approve the Colombia agreement “as soon as possible.”

“For this reason, we’re pleased by Congress’s progress toward a path forward for all three pending trade agreements and Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA),” a nearly 50-year program for workers displaced by trade, Guthrie said.

WASHINGTON, Aug 11 (Reuters) – New government data on Thursday showing the U.S. trade gap with China grew nearly 12 percent in the first half of 2011 is likely to fuel efforts in Congress to get tough with China’s currency practices.

But that drive could fall short again, sparing President Barack Obama a major diplomatic headache as he prepares to host Chinese President Hu Jintao and other regional leaders at an annual summit in Honolulu in November, analysts said.

The bilateral trade gap totaled $133.4 billion for the six months through June, compared to $119.4 billion in the same period last year, despite repeated U.S. and Chinese government pledges to bring trade into balance.

The deficit with China for June alone was $26.7 billion, largest since September 2010 and the fifth largest on record.

Many U.S. lawmakers and manufacturers blame the huge deficit on unfair Chinese trade practices. They complain that China deliberately undervalues its currency to give its companies a big price advantage in international trade.

“Cracking down on unfair trade practices — including currency manipulation — should be at the top of the trade agenda. Instead, it’s been sidelined and there are no clear indications from House or Senate leaders that it is a legislative priority,” said Scott Paul, executive director of the Alliance for American Manufacturing.

In a sign China could be about to shift its yuan policy to contain domestic inflationary pressures, the People’s Bank of China on Wednesday and Thursday allowed the biggest two-day rise in the yuan reference rate since February 2008.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States imposed sanctions on Wednesday against Syria’s largest commercial bank and mobile phone operator to try to raise pressure on President Bashar al-Assad to end his brutal campaign against protesters.

A U.S. official told Reuters he expects Washington this week for the first time to explicitly call for Assad to go.

Human rights activists estimate Assad’s brutal crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrations over the past five months has left more than 1,600 people dead, putting pressure on the United States to do what it can to force Assad out.

So far, President Barack Obama has stopped short of calling on Assad to leave power, though on Monday it welcomed an Arab League statement condemning Syria as further sign that the world is repulsed by Assad’s actions.

However, Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday he expected the Syrian government to start reforms within 15 days, following talks between the two countries in which Turkey urged Assad to stop all violence and bloodshed.

In new sanctions, the Treasury Department added the Commercial Bank of Syria, a Syrian state-owned financial institution, and its Lebanon-based subsidiary, Syrian Lebanese Commercial Bank, to a list that targets proliferators of weapons of mass destruction and their supporters.

The Treasury Department also designated Syriatel, the country’s largest mobile phone operator, under a separate presidential executive order that targets Syrian officials and others responsible for human rights abuses in Syria.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A top U.S. trade official on Tuesday said he urged Vietnam to undo a number of trade-restrictive policies aimed at curbing inflation and reducing the country’s current account deficit.

“We appreciate that they’re trying to stabilize their macroeconomy, but the point that we made in our meetings was we should work together to find a less trade-restrictive way to do so,” Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Demetrios Marantis told Reuters in a phone interview from Hanoi.

While no firm commitments were made, “the Vietnamese were very open to our concerns and I think want to get together further to … see if there’s anything they can do to address them,” Marantis said after two days of talks with top Vietnamese officials.

Marantis said Vietnam’s policies were hurting U.S. agricultural, industrial and services exporters, but emphasized talks on the issues were separate from the broader negotiations on a proposed TransPacific Partnership (TPP) pact.

The two former war enemies are negotiating that regional free trade agreement with seven other countries: Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Brunei, Singapore, Chile and Peru.

The group’s goal is to have the “broad outlines” of the deal completed by November, when President Barack Obama hosts 20 other regional leaders in Honolulu for the annual summit of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC).

“Vietnam is going to pose challenges in some areas that we just need to really commit ourselves to engaging on a step-by-step basis,” Marantis said.

WASHINGTON, Aug 8 (Reuters) – A U.S. company plans to ask the Obama administration for help in recovering more than $230 million it says it is owned by the government of Argentina, an attorney for the company said on Monday.

Stephen Kho, a lawyer with the Akin Gump law firm, said it would be the first time a U.S. company has used the “Section 301″ trade law to pressure a foreign government to pay an award decided by an arbitrator in an investment dispute.

“I know there’s other bigger fish to fry, but this is something I think is the beginning of a slippery slope,” Kho said, referring to the possibility of other countries refusing to pay awards in investment spats unless the United States takes a hard line on Argentina.

The case involves Azurix Corp., a Houston-based water services and investment company which was granted a 30-year water concession in Argentina in 1999.

“As a result of unwarranted political interference, the company was forced to terminate the contract in 2002,” Representative John Culberson said in a July 15 letter urging U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner to take action.

Azurix filed an arbitration case under the U.S.-Argentina Bilateral Investment Treaty to recoup its losses.

The case was heard by the World Bank’s International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), which “rejected every argument put forth by Argentina and awarded Azurix over $165 million, plus interest,” Culberson said.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Two senior Democrats on Thursday reacted warily to a Senate deal to ensure passage of three long-delayed free trade agreements, saying they wanted an absolute guarantee that a retraining program for displaced workers would also be approved.

“The path forward in the House (of Representatives) as well as the Senate must be ironclad in its assurance that TAA (Trade Adjustment Assistance) will be renewed,” Representatives Sander Levin and Jim McDermott said in a joint statement.

Levin, the top Democrat on the House Ways and Means Committee, and McDermott, the top Democrat on the panel’s trade subcommittee, issued the statement after Senate leaders late on Wednesday outlined a plan for action on the trade deals with South Korea, Colombia and Panama and the TAA program.

The understanding raised hopes the agreements could be approved by late September or early October, after lawmakers return from their month-long August break. All three of the pacts were signed more than four years ago.

A congressional aide said Democrats were concerned about Republican House Speaker John Boehner’s statement welcoming the understanding between Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid and Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell.

Boehner said he looked forward to passing the three trade pacts, but only promised that the TAA would be “considered” by the House at the same time.

Democrats are worried a stand-alone TAA bill could be killed in the House even if it passes the Senate.

WASHINGTON, Aug 3 (Reuters) – Congressional leaders said on Wednesday they have agreed on a path to approve three long-delayed free trade agreements and a program to help U.S. workers who lose their jobs because of foreign competition.

“My staff and (Senate Republican Leader Mitch) McConnell’s staff have been in discussions for weeks over the Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) program and the three outstanding FTAs,” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said in a statement.

“We believe those discussions have provided a path forward in the Senate after we return for passage of the bipartisan compromise on the Trade Adjustment Assistance program, followed by passage of the three FTAs,” Reid said.

In a separate statement, House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner welcomed the deal reached by Reid and McConnell.

“I look forward to the House passing the FTAs, in tandem with separate consideration of TAA legislation, as soon as possible,” Boehner said in a statement.

U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk also said he was “very pleased that Senators Reid and McConnell have agreed on a path forward” for the trade deals with South Korea, Colombia and Panama and TAA.

“The Administration looks forward to working with leaders of the Senate and House after Congress returns in September to secure approval of these important initiatives for America’s working families,” Kirk added.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Congressional leaders said on Wednesday they have agreed on a path to approve three long-delayed free trade agreements and a program to help U.S. workers who lose their jobs because of foreign competition.

“My staff and (Senate Republican Leader Mitch) McConnell’s staff have been in discussions for weeks over the Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) program and the three outstanding FTAs,” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said in a statement.

“We believe those discussions have provided a path forward in the Senate after we return for passage of the bipartisan compromise on the Trade Adjustment Assistance program, followed by passage of the three FTAs,” Reid said.

In a separate statement, House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner welcomed the deal reached by Reid and McConnell.

“I look forward to the House passing the FTAs, in tandem with separate consideration of TAA legislation, as soon as possible,” Boehner said in a statement.

U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk also said he was “very pleased that Senators Reid and McConnell have agreed on a path forward” for the trade deals with South Korea, Colombia and Panama and TAA.

“The Administration looks forward to working with leaders of the Senate and House after Congress returns in September to secure approval of these important initiatives for America’s working families,” Kirk added.