(Reuters) - President Barack Obama will seek to promote U.S. trade relations with Asian Pacific partners during an APEC summit he will host on Hawaii, the White House said on Wednesday.

"At APEC we want to take the Trans Pacific Partnership trade agreement to the next level," White House deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes told reporters.

Obama and leaders of the other 20 member economies of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum are holding their annual summit this weekend in Honolulu, where they are exploring ways to boost trade in green technology and reduce regulatory barriers that impede business.

Nine of the APEC countries -- the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Chile and Peru -- are expected to say on Saturday that they have reached the "broad outlines" of a proposed Transpacific Partnership trade deal, but more work is needed to reach a final pact.

The meeting comes fast on the heels of congressional of three long-delayed trade deals with South Korea, Colombia and Panama that Obama held up at the White House for several years, as his administration worked to resolve concerns raised by many of his fellow Democrats about the pacts.

November 9, 2011

Source: Reuters

• US tariff threats over forced labour 'unjustified', Commission says
• US Section 301 Forced Labor Investigation: New Trade Compliance Risks for Viet Nam Exporters
• US cites forced labor concerns as grounds for new tariffs
• Aquatic products face challenge of maintaining market share in US
• Viet Nam extends anti-dumping duties on some Thai sugar products to 2031