The states said Biden had overstepped his authority when he revoked the permit for the Keystone pipeline on his first day in office.

The top Republican in the U.S. Senate says he asked president-elect Donald Trump to move swiftly in approving construction of the Keystone XL pipeline that would allow Calgary-based TransCanada Corp. to ship bitumen from Alberta's oilsands to U.S. Gulf Coast refineries.

Diplomats are fanning out across the U.S. to talk up the benefits of trade and counter what senior officials see as a worrying mood of protectionism swirling through the election.