WASHINGTON - When Russia formally joined the World Trade Organization as its newest member in August, more than 150 countries began expanding trade with the ninth-largest economy in the world.

One big country did not: the United States.

Much to the consternation of business and trade officials around the nation, Congress has refused to approve a permanent trade pact with Russia, even though it has won broad bipartisan backing. As yet another sign of the deadlock in Washington, House and Senate leaders so far have not allowed the deal to come up for a final vote.

With time running out in the current Congress, pro-trade groups want the agreement high on the agenda when members return for a lame-duck session after Election Day. If the deal is not approved soon, they warn, the United States will miss a chance to export more products to 140 million consumers in Russia.

The stalled pact is partly the result of election-year politics and worries that Russia has not done enough to improve its record on human rights. Earlier this year, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney called Russia the nation's top geopolitical foe, but he supports the deal as long as the U.S. agrees to do more to crack down on human-rights violations.

But backers of the deal remain upbeat.

"It's a tough time right now -- people are feeling vulnerable in lots of ways, and so it's not easy for us to talk about the benefits from these free-trade agreements," said Jean Davis, director of international trade with the North Carolina Department of Commerce. "But we really try to push for these things. We're patient, and this is just another natural progression, so we understand people's hesitation."

Minnesota is a minor player

Texas exported the most products to Russia in 2011, hitting $1.6 billion, up 32 percent from 2010. Illinois, California, New York and Washington, are the next biggest exporters, according to the Coalition for U.S.-Russia Trade.

Minnesota is a smaller exporter, but still shipped $71 million in machinery, electronic products and other goods to Russia last year, the coalition's data shows. That's up 6 percent from 2010.

The environmental group Friends of the Earth opposes the deal, saying the regime of President Vladimir Putin "must not be rewarded" for its record on the environment, trade and human rights.

Backers of the deal had pushed hard to get a final vote in Congress before Russia formally joined the WTO this summer.

The pact has won support from many diverse interests, including the Obama administration and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, normally at odds on many issues. Both are touting the trade pact as a critical jobs bill.

It has cleared two trade-friendly panels on Capitol Hill: the Senate Finance Committee, controlled by Democrats, and the Republican-dominated House Ways and Means Committee.

And a bipartisan group of 15 governors is pushing the president and Congress to quickly approve the pact, saying it could double U.S. exports to Russia from $11 billion in 2011 to $22 billion in 2017.