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Friday October 5 8:04 PM ET

By Adam Entous

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Bush administration is readying a package of trade benefits for Pakistan and other key allies in Washington's hunt for Osama bin Laden, congressional sources said on Friday.

The measures, most of which would not require congressional approval, would remove hurdles to accessing the U.S. market, particularly for textile and apparel products.

An announcement is expected in the coming weeks on extending new trade benefits to Pakistan, sources said. Another package is in the works for Turkey.

The White House had no comment.

The concessions are part of a broader effort by the Bush administration to reward nations for their cooperation as Washington gears up for strikes against Afghanistan's Taliban rulers, who are believed to be sheltering bin Laden, the Saudi-born militant the United States blames for the Sept. 11 hijack attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

Almost 5,600 people died in the attacks. Bush has already rescheduled hundreds of millions of dollars of debt and eased economic sanctions to reward Pakistan for its help.

But administration and congressional officials say the aid will not stop there. They are readying a $600 million economic assistance package, of which easing U.S. restrictions on textile products would be a part.

Pakistan has warned that it may lose more than $1 billion from canceled export orders in the wake of last month's attacks on the United States.

Pakistani manufacturers say production of leather goods, textiles and carpets had slumped more than 40 percent. Pakistan's exports to the United States in fiscal 1999/2000 reached $2.123 billion, with garments accounting for more than 42 percent of the total.

Congressional aides said the administration was considering a similar textiles package for Turkey, NATO's only overwhelmingly Muslim member and an EU membership candidate.

Turkey already hosts U.S. warplanes and has offered full cooperation with any international retaliation for the Sept. 11 attacks.

The country is also in the midst of its deepest recession since 1945 and has pinned hopes for recovery on exports to western economies. Textiles and clothing make up around 30 percent of Turkey's total exports of around $30 billion a year.

Economy Minister Kemal Dervis has already stressed Turkey's strategic importance to the west and called on its allies to ''consider the cost that Turkey will have to bear''.