*Trade secret theft costs $300 billion, 2.1 million jobs. WASHINGTON, May 22- Theft of trade secrets, chiefly by China, costs the U.S. economy $300 billion a year and must be fought with sanctions as tough as those used against terrorism and drug trafficking, an advisory panel said on Wednesday.
WASHINGTON, May 22- Major U.S. trade legislation appears increasingly likely to clear Congress this year despite an intensely partisan atmosphere made worse by scandals plaguing President Barack Obama's administration.
*China power producers slump again, hit by Citi downgrade. HONG KONG, May 22- Hong Kong shares fell further from 3-1/ 2- month highs on Wednesday and mainland China markets were mixed as Chinese power producers extended losses after a broker downgrade added to fears of lower profit margins.
*Iran 7th biggest oil supplier to India in Jan-Apr vs 3rd yr ago. NEW DELHI, May 22- India's oil imports from Iran fell 34.2 percent in April from March, data from trade sources showed on Wednesday, bolstering the country's case for the renewal of a waiver from U.S. sanctions on Tehran due to expire next month.
TOKYO, May 22- Japan's exports rose less than expected in April from a year earlier due to weak demand from Europe and China, highlighting the challenges confronting the world's third-biggest economy as policymakers try to engineer a sustained revival.
TOKYO, May 22- Japanese exports rose 3.8 percent in April from a year earlier, marking a second straight month of gains, Ministry of Finance data showed on Wednesday, in a sign that a weaker yen and a pickup in global demand are helping the export-reliant economy.
LONDON, May 21- Copper dipped on Tuesday after disappointing import numbers from top consumer China, but losses were capped by a protracted production outage in Indonesia. Copper has rebounded from 18- month lows hit earlier this month below $6,800 a tonne on growing confidence that the U.S. recovery is on track, but the metal is still down some 7 percent this year.
LONDON, May 21- Copper rose on Tuesday as investors remained confident about the U.S. economic recovery and kept an eye on a protracted production outage in Indonesia, though gains were capped by disappointing import numbers from top consumer China.
WINNIPEG, Manitoba/ CHICAGO, May 21- The United States is poised to introduce stricter rules on the labeling of meat imports this week, a move that is likely to heat up a simmering trade dispute with Canada and Mexico.
NEW DELHI/ SEOUL, May 21- India has slashed Iranian oil imports by almost a fifth since December, the sharpest cut among Asian buyers, in a move that should increase its chances of winning a new U.S. waiver next month on sanctions targeting oil trade with Iran.
*Data due on Wednesday at 8:50 a.m. (Tuesday at 2350 GMT. TOKYO, May 21- Japan's exports are expected to have risen in April from a year earlier for a second straight month led by U.S.-bound shipments of cars and Asian demand for electronics parts in a sign a weak yen and global recovery are helping the export-reliant economy.
NEW YORK, May 18- Europe's top trade official for the first time late on Friday officially cited Chinese mobile telecommunications equipment makers Huawei and ZTE Corp for violating anti-dumping and anti-subsidy guidelines.
*Freeport first project approved since 2011.