WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Senate on Thursday handed President Barack Obama a victory by passing a program to help workers displaced by foreign competition, paving the way for action on three long-delayed trade deals.

The Senate voted to approve a bill containing a revamped Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) program, which Obama has demanded as his price for sending free trade pacts with South Korea, Colombia and Panama to Congress.

“Today’s vote is a major victory for American workers and a key step forward in our efforts to approve the job-creating free trade agreements,” Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, a Democrat, said in a statement.

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell urged Obama to now show some “trust” in Republicans by submitting the agreements to Congress before the House of Representatives has voted on the Trade Adjustment Assistance bill.

“The Senate today will have acted on trust in passing TAA even before we received the agreements. But the White House has refused to show the same trust in Congressional Republicans who’ve assured them that TAA will move along with the FTAs (Free Trade Agreements), McConnell said on the Senate floor.

The retraining and income assistance program dates back to 1962 and was expanded in the 2009 stimulus bill to cover more workers and provide more generous health insurance benefits.

However, the expanded provisions expired at the beginning of this year and Republicans bent on reducing government spending balked at renewing them, setting up a fight with Obama and congressional Democrats.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A bipartisan group of senators on Thursday predicted the Senate would overwhelmingly pass a bill next month to crack down on China currency practices they blame for millions of lost American jobs.

“When countries like China manipulate their currencies, that’s not competing. That’s cheating,” Senator Sherrod Brown told reporters at a news conference to unveil the bill.

The legislation combines two earlier bipartisan measures — one championed by Democratic Senator Charles Schumer and Republican Senator Lindsey Graham; the other by Brown, a Democrat, and Senator Olympia Snowe, a Republican.

Schumer said he expected the legislation to pass “resoundingly” early in October when lawmakers return from a break.

The legislation is certain to increase tensions with China, although it would have a long road to travel before becoming law. Policymakers are already worried Europe’s debt crisis could undermine global growth; a trade war would be further trouble.

Key Republicans in the House of Representatives have indicated a go-slow approach to the China currency issue, and Schumer acknowledged President Barack Obama does not support the bill.

The bill’s sponsors, which include Republican senators Jeff Sessions and Richard Burr and Democratic senators Robert Casey and Debbie Stabenow, argued an undervalued Chinese currency had created an unfair trade playing field for U.S. producers.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Senate appeared set to approve on Thursday a program to help workers displaced by foreign competition, which business groups hope will pave the way for action on three long-delayed trade deals.

The Senate is expected to pass a revamped Trade Adjustment Assistance program, which President Barack Obama has demanded before sending free trade pacts with South Korea, Colombia and Panama to Congress for votes.

“This program ensures that our workers are not demoralized by unemployment, but that they are energized by the hope of again standing on their own two feet,” Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, a Democrat, said earlier this week during debate on the bill.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said the Senate would finish its work on the legislation on Thursday.

If senators were to unexpectedly reject TAA, it would derail efforts to approve the trade pacts next month. But supporters said they were optimistic it would pass.

The retraining and income assistance program dates back to 1962 and was expanded in the 2009 stimulus bill to cover more workers and provide more generous health insurance benefits.

However, the expanded provisions expired at the beginning of this year and Republicans bent on reducing government spending balked at renewing them, setting up a fight with Obama and congressional Democrats.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Legislation aimed at pressing China to let its yuan currency rise has been propelled to the top of the U.S. Senate’s agenda by concern about manufacturing job losses and anxiety about impending votes on three free-trade agreements.

Chances look good the Democratic-controlled Senate will soon pass a currency bill with support from Republicans, less than one year after it killed a similar measure that had passed the House of Representatives on a 348-79 vote.

At a time when Congress is deeply unpopular with the American public, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has embraced a get-tough-with-Beijing stance as part his jobs agenda even if it is not on President Barack Obama’s, promising a swift vote to pressure China to let its yuan currency rise in value.

“The first major jobs bill we’re going to have is (to) send a message to the Chinese, where we’ve lost 2.8 million jobs during the last eight years, and that is we’re going to do something about Chinese currency. And we’re going to do that quickly,” Reid said on Tuesday.

Lawmakers in both parties have complained for years that China’s currency is significantly undervalued against the dollar, making it hard for many U.S. companies to compete against cheaper Chinese products.

Long-time proponents of legislation that would allow the U.S. Commerce Department to slap duties on goods from countries with “undervalued” currencies are cautiously optimistic both chambers will pass a bill this time around.

That would force Obama, who has yet to take a stance on the issue, to decide whether or not to sign the measure. He has already been accused by at least one Republican presidential candidate — Mitt Romney — of failing to act aggressively to level the trade playing field with Beijing.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Legislation aimed at pressing China to let its yuan currency rise has been propelled to the top of the U.S. Senate’s agenda by concern about manufacturing job losses and anxiety about impending votes on three free-trade agreements.

Chances look good the Democratic-controlled Senate will soon pass a currency bill with support from Republicans, less than one year after it killed a similar measure that had passed the House of Representatives on a 348-79 vote.

At a time when Congress is deeply unpopular with the American public, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has embraced a get-tough-with-Beijing stance as part his jobs agenda even if it is not on President Barack Obama’s, promising a swift vote to pressure China to let its yuan currency rise in value.

“The first major jobs bill we’re going to have is (to) send a message to the Chinese, where we’ve lost 2.8 million jobs during the last eight years, and that is we’re going to do something about Chinese currency. And we’re going to do that quickly,” Reid said on Tuesday.

Lawmakers in both parties have complained for years that China’s currency is significantly undervalued against the dollar, making it hard for many U.S. companies to compete against cheaper Chinese products.

Long-time proponents of legislation that would allow the U.S. Commerce Department to slap duties on goods from countries with “undervalued” currencies are cautiously optimistic both chambers will pass a bill this time around.

That would force Obama, who has yet to take a stance on the issue, to decide whether or not to sign the measure. He has already been accused by at least one Republican presidential candidate — Mitt Romney — of failing to act aggressively to level the trade playing field with Beijing.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Senate Democrats banded together on Tuesday to reject a Republican amendment that would give President Barack Obama “trade promotion authority” to negotiate new market-opening agreements.

Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell offered the measure because he said it was vital for U.S. job creation.

“Without trade promotion authority, there will be no other trade agreements. We all know that,” McConnell said.

“And that’s why I’ve been a strong advocate for granting this president the same trade promotion authority that every other president has enjoyed since 1974.”

The measure failed on a vote of 55-45.

Obama has not asked for trade promotion authority, which expired in 2007 and also is known as “fast track” because it puts trade pacts on a quick path to congressional approval.

An administration official said Obama will seek the authority “at an appropriate time,” but pursuing the measure now would slow down action on South Korea, Colombia and Panama trade deals expected to go to Congress in coming weeks.

WASHINGTON, Sept 20 (Reuters) – The United States said on Tuesday it was challenging steep Chinese duties on U.S. poultry products that Beijing imposed after the United States raised barriers to imports of Chinese chickens and tires.

“Today’s action pertains to what we believe is China’s wrongful imposition of trade remedies against U.S. chicken products,” U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk said.

“It’s a case that has implications for an estimated 300,000 American farmers and workers throughout the U.S. poultry supply chain,” Kirk told reporters at a briefing to announce the start of action at World Trade Organization.

The Chinese duties range from about 54 to 65 percent on U.S. exporters Pilgrim’s Pride (PPC.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), Tyson Foods (TSN.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), Keystone Foods and about 32 other producers.

Another group of companies that did not cooperate in China’s probe face duties of more than 135 percent. They have not been major suppliers to China though.

U.S. producers sold roughly $650 million of poultry to China in 2008 and 2009, but shipments in the first half of this year totaled only $37 million, an industry aide said.

Beijing accuses the U.S. companies of selling in China at below market prices and receiving government subsidies.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Senate began debate on Monday on a bill that waives tariffs on goods from developing countries in a step toward congressional approval of three long-delayed trade deals.

The Senate voted 84-8 to begin action on legislation to renew the Generalized System of Preferences, which dates back to the early 1970s and waives duties on thousands of goods from poor countries to help spur development.

The lopsided vote clears the way for potentially several days of debate on the legislation, which the House approved earlier this month on a voice vote.

Supporters of free trade agreements with South Korea, Colombia and Panama hope the Senate action will help set the stage for President Barack Obama to formally submit the pacts to Congress for votes.

“With this vote and subsequent votes in the Senate this week, we will be one step closer to passage of the long-stalled trade agreements with Colombia, (South) Korea and Panama,” the National Foreign Trade Council business group said in a statement.

Each of the trade deals was signed more than four years ago under former Republican President George W. Bush, although Obama has worked over the past year to address Democratic concerns about the pacts.

The White House also has tied the fate of the trade deals to renewal of Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA), a nearly 50-year-old income assistance and retraining program that helps workers displaced by foreign competition.

CHICAGO (Reuters) – The United States has yet to outline ideas for protecting workers’ rights or reining in state-owned enterprises in a proposed Transpacific trade pact, despite a mid-November deadline to reach “broad outlines” of a deal, a senior U.S. trade negotiator said on Wednesday.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said President Barack Obama’s administration had also not made proposals in the Transpacific Partnership talks for other sensitive topics, such as footwear and dairy, whose U.S. producers are concerned about a crush of imports.

“For all of these sensitive products, we are in close consultations with the stakeholders who have interest in those sectors and we will be negotiating those issues recognizing the sensitivity of those products to the U.S.,” she said.

U.S. textile, lamb, beef and sugar producers are also worried what the agreement to phase out tariffs and other trade barriers could mean for their livelihoods.

Negotiators from the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Chile and Peru have been in Chicago since last week for the eighth round of talks on the TPP. Another round is set next month for Peru.

Earlier this year, top trade officials from the TPP countries agreed to strive for the “broad outlines” of a deal by the time Obama hosts the annual summit meeting of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Honolulu November 12-13.

Together, the eight other countries of the TPP would be about the fifth largest U.S. trading partner.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid on Tuesday said the Senate would soon begin debate on a bill to help retrain workers thrown out of work by foreign competition, setting the stage for President Barack Obama to submit three long-delayed trade deals to Congress.

The Nevada Democrat told reporters he would soon bring up legislation for two trade programs — Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA), which is a worker retraining program, and the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP), which waives duties on imports from developing countries.

Reid told reporters he would follow that with action on a separate bill to crack down on China currency manipulation.

President Barack Obama has insisted Congress pass TAA along with the trade deals with South Korea, Colombia and Panama.

Many Republicans are skeptical of the merits of the nearly 50-year-old retraining and income assistance program and objected to an earlier White House plan to include TAA in the implementing legislation for the South Korean trade deal.

But Representative Kevin Brady, a Texas Republican, said on Tuesday he believed the White House, Senate leaders and House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner now have agreed on a “very tight process” for moving the trade deals and a separate bill to renew Trade Adjustment Assistance.”

“I’m optimistic that we can get this done and get this done very soon,” Brady said in remarks to the anti-unilateral sanctions business group, USA Engage.