WASHINGTON, Aug 3 (Reuters) – With U.S. economic growth nearly stalled and unemployment stuck above 9 percent, Caterpillar’s (CAT.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) man in Washington, Bill Lane, has been pitching what many think is a crazy idea: one more try to reach a big market-opening deal through the World Trade Organization.

Facing a panel last week of top trade lobbyists for the U.S. manufacturing, services and farm sectors, Lane warned that countries in Asia, Latin America and Europe were striking new trade deals at much faster pace than the United States.

“We’re being disadvantaged not because of protectionism but because they’re embracing trade liberalization in a much more aggressive form than the U.S. The only way we can leapfrog what’s going on … is to do something bold and do something bold through the WTO (World Trade Organization),” Lane said.

It was a rousing call for resuscitating the all-but dead Doha round of global trade talks, which the United States helped launch in the capital of Qatar just two months after the September 11, 2001 attacks.

But these days it is hard to get cheers in Washington for the epic-length talks. Lane’s friends and colleagues, as much as they would welcome a global deal to open new markets to U.S. exports, essentially told him there was no hope.

“The WTO, for services, holds no promise,” said Bob Vastine, president of the Coalition of Service Industries. “It’s a vehicle incapable of delivering the goods.”

“The premise that a breakthrough idea is possible in Geneva is not borne out by the facts,” said Scott Miller, director of global trade policy for consumer products giant Procter & Gamble (PG.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz). “It’s hard to find ambition in Geneva.”

WASHINGTON, Aug 1 (Reuters) – A deal to raise the U.S. debt ceiling after weeks of tough talks between the White House and Congress has raised hope leaders will now turn their attention to resolving difference blocking three long-delayed trade deals, U.S. business groups said on Monday.

“It would be good if we can start those wheels turning before (lawmakers) go away” for their month-long August recess, said Bill Reinsch, president of the National Foreign Trade Council, whose members include major exporters such as Boeing (BA.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and Caterpillar (CAT.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz).

The ugly negotiations over raising the debt ceiling and cutting the huge budget deficit occupied most of the White House and congressional leaders’ time in July, blocking work on a deal to move the trade pacts with South Korea, Colombia and Panama to Congress for votes.

But now that it looks like Congress will approve a debt agreement, “I think there’s a very strong desire to come together and work out something” on the trade accords, said Bill Morley, president of Altrius Group, which lobbies on behalf of the American Chamber of Commerce in Colombia.

Morley said he hoped Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell would “lay out a framework” for action in September on the pacts and a worker retraining program known as Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA).

That would give South Korea, Colombia and Panama some reassurance that years of U.S. delay in passing the agreement are nearly over, he said.

However, congressional aides said it was unclear whether such an announcement would come.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A top Republican lawmaker Wednesday said he planned to turn up the pressure on China over a long list of trade “abuses” after Congress returns from its upcoming August recess.

“China … flagrantly disregards its international obligations and seeks to impede fair commerce at every opportunity,” House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp said in a speech.

Camp told reporters he was concerned about Beijing’s currency practices, which many U.S. lawmakers and economists believe gives Chinese companies an unfair advantage.

But he said Congress had made a mistake in the past by focusing exclusively on that issue when there were “far larger” concerns. He promised a broad hearing on China trade concerns before deciding if legislation was needed.

“China blatantly steals the intellectual property of American businesses and grossly subsidizes domestic industries — and its list of trade abuses goes on and on,” he said.

Shortly after Camp’s speech, the Senate unanimously approved outgoing Commerce Secretary Gary Locke to be the next U.S. ambassador to China.

Locke, a former Washington state governor, has pledged to press China to open its market to more U.S. goods and services, move to a more flexible currency exchange rate and increase action against counterfeiting of American products.

WASHINGTON, July 27 (Reuters) – A top U.S. Republican lawmaker on Wednesday said he planned to turn up the pressure on China over a long list of trade “abuses” after Congress returns from its upcoming August recess.

“China … flagrantly disregards its international obligations and seeks to impede fair commerce at every opportunity,” House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp said in a speech.

Camp told reporters he was concerned about Beijing’s currency practices, which many U.S. lawmakers and economists believe gives Chinese companies an unfair advantage.

But he said Congress had made a mistake in the past by focusing exclusively on that issue when there were “far larger” concerns. He promised a broad hearing on China trade concerns before deciding if legislation was needed.

“China blatantly steals the intellectual property of American businesses and grossly subsidizes domestic industries – and its list of trade abuses goes on and on,” he said.

Shortly after Camp’s speech, the Senate unanimously approved outgoing Commerce Secretary Gary Locke to be the next U.S. ambassador to China.

Locke, a former Washington state governor, has pledged to press China to open its market to more U.S. goods and services, move to a more flexible currency exchange rate and increase action against counterfeiting of American products.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A top Republican lawmaker on Wednesday outlined a plan for winning approval of three long-delayed trade agreements and a worker retraining program the White House has insisted Congress pass along with them.

Representative Dave Camp, who chairs the House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee, urged President Barack Obama to back the step-by-step plan.

It is intended to assure Democrats that the Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) program for workers displaced by international trade would not be killed during action on the South Korea, Colombia and Panama deals.

“I think now we have set out a framework that is reasonable, that will ensure that TAA is done and that the agreements are voted on,” Camp told reporters after a speech to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

“I’m hopeful that now that we have this path forward, (the White House) will sign on to it,” Camp said.

But both a Senate Democratic aide and an Obama administration official said there still was no final agreement on the sequence for voting on TAA and the trade pacts in the Republican-led House and the Democratic-led Senate.

Democrats view TAA as a vital part of the U.S. social safety net, while many Republicans — especially those elected last year on promises to cut government spending — question its effectiveness and cost.

WASHINGTON, July 26 (Reuters) – U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk said on Tuesday he is optimistic Congress will pass free trade pacts with South Korea, Colombia and Panama shortly after lawmakers return in September from a month-long recess.

President Barack Obama had hoped to win approval of the three agreements before the August break but Republicans balked at a White House plan to include an extension of the Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) program for displaced workers in the implementing legislation for the South Korea pact.

“We believe we have a framework for an agreement that will allow us very quickly when Congress reconvenes in September to approve and have a vote on Trade Adjustment Assistance and allow us to move forward with passage of the free trade agreements at the same time,” Kirk said in a speech.

Kirk said the Obama administration had been working with congressional leaders in both parties to find a path forward on TAA and the trade pacts, telling reporters after the speech there were still a few more details to nail down.

Republicans demanded a separate vote on TAA, which provides retraining and income assistance for workers who lost jobs due to trade. Many Democrats fear Republican foes of TAA will kill the program if it is not shielded by the South Korea pact.

Democrats say TAA is a vital part of the U.S. social safety net but many Republicans question its effectiveness and cost.

The White House has insisted on renewal of TAA in conjunction with the trade pacts, although it did agree on a package of reforms to scale back the program from levels approved in the 2009 economic stimulus bill.

WASHINGTON, July 20 (Reuters) – Senator Rob Portman on Wednesday urged President Barack Obama to quickly send three long-delayed free-trade pacts to Congress for approval, rather than wait until after the August congressional recess.

Portman, a former U.S. trade representative under President George W. Bush, also said 12 Republican senators have agreed to support an extension of Trade Adjustment Assistance, a worker retraining program that Obama has insisted be approved along with the pacts.

That, combined with the 53 votes in the Democratic caucus, would be enough to ensure that Republican opponents of Trade Adjustment Assistance in the Senate can not block it, he said.

“Mr. President, please tear down these walls. Send these agreements forward,” Portman said, echoing late President Ronald Reagan’s call for the Soviet Leader Mikhail Gorbachev to tear down the Berlin Wall.

“If we don’t (pass the agreements with South Korea, Colombia and Panama) now, my fear is that over the August break there will be additional pressure from those who oppose the agreements,” said Portman, an Ohio Republican.

The administration has hoped to win approval of the three trade deals before the August recess but with each passing day that looks increasingly doubtful, due in large part to intense negotiations on a deal to raise the U.S. debt ceiling by Aug. 2 that is occupying both the White House and Congress.

While Portman may have enough votes to overcome an initial procedural effort to kill Trade Adjustment Assistance, Democratic sources said a Senate leadership deal is needed to give the White House confidence the program will survive a prolonged Senate debate.

WASHINGTON, July 20 (Reuters) – The Obama administration hopes to announce soon a deal with congressional Republicans to clear the way for votes on three long-delayed free trade agreements, the top U.S. trade official said on Wednesday.

The administration had hoped to win approval of the trade deals with South Korea, Colombia and Panama before the August congressional recess. But a disagreement with Republicans over a worker retraining program called Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) has threatened that.

“We are working so that we can very quickly announce a process on how we will be able to move that forward,” U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk said in at a speech at a gathering of insurance companies, banks, express delivery firms and other service sector businesses.

“I am still confident we are going to get these agreements passed, and we’re going to get them passed sooner rather than later,” Kirk said.

Republicans have objected to a White House plan to include an extension of the TAA program in the implementing legislation for the South Korea pact, and have demanded a separate vote on the legislation. But Democrats fear the program will be killed if not shielded by the South Korea pact.

Kirk said the administration is working with congressional leaders to resolve that issue.

TAA is a nearly 50-year-old retraining and income assistance program to help workers who have lost their jobs due to foreign competition.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama will soon send free-trade pacts with Colombia, South Korea and Panama to Congress for votes, White House Chief of Staff Bill Daley said on Tuesday, but doubts are building on its passage.

Daley, who last week said it was urgent Congress pass the measures before its August recess, told reporters it was possible that work on the bills could stretch beyond that.

“I don’t know if (they will) be approved by August but we’re moving forward on them,” he said after a speech at a Commerce Department conference on the Obama administration’s efforts to reform export controls on high-tech goods.

Dark clouds were also building for the FTA in Seoul, where the main opposition party has taken another step toward blocking its ratification by listing a series of points it wants renegotiated.

The Democratic Party said the Lee administration had made too many concessions to Washington in last year’s renegotiated deal, but the ruling party vowed to push the deal through parliament in August.

Thousands of farmers took to Seoul’s streets last month saying the FTA will allow the entry of cheaper foreign farm produce.

Both Daley and U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk have said quick approval of the pacts is needed to ensure U.S. exporters do not lose market share to Canada and the European Union, which have pursued their own deals with the countries.