* U.S. Commerce Secretary says firms need fair treatment
* Locke says climate control will create U.S. jobs
By Richard Cowan
COPENHAGEN, Dec 11 (Reuters) - U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke on Friday refused to close the door to retaliation against foreign countries if they unfairly take advantage of any international climate pact through cheap exports.
"It's very important that we have a level playing field for American companies," Locke said on the sidelines of U.N. climate talks in Copenhagen.
Locke was responding to a question from the audience about "how prepared" the United States was to use sanctions as part of its efforts to tackle climate change.
The U.S. House of Representatives has approved legislation requiring domestic industries to cut emissions of carbon dioxide, blamed for global warming, by 17 percent by 2020 from 2005 levels.
The House bill gives the U.S. government power to take action against imports from countries that do not have certain carbon reduction plans in place, possibly allowing them to produce goods more cheaply.
The provision has raised concerns among some countries in negotiations with the United States on a global climate deal about whether it would comply with trade rules.
"If we adopt very strict and strong restrictions on climate change ... it's important other countries do the same," Locke said. "That's why we're here in Copenhagen -- that it be a universally-endorsed, universally-shared commitment."
A U.S. climate change bill has not yet cleared the full Congress, having stalled in the Senate, which is unlikely to vote on its version for at least a couple months.
EYE ON JOBS BUT NO ANALYSIS YET
Locke devoted much of his speech to job-creation prospects if the United States embraces climate control measures that would require factories, utilities and automobiles to run more on clean, alternative fuels instead of coal and oil.
"In the next few decades we need to rebuild and reinvent virtually every industrial activity, from power generation to transportation to manufacturing and construction," Locke said.
"We're talking about millions of blue-, green- and white-collar jobs," said Locke, whose agency tries to promote job creation in the United States and expanded foreign markets for U.S. goods.
At a press conference after his speech, Locke was asked by Reuters whether his agency had done any economic analysis to back up claims that new environmental activities to cut carbon emissions would create millions of jobs.
"The Department of Commerce has not done detailed analysis. We're just getting those numbers from what we're hearing from other countries, what's happening in other countries, as well as estimates from various sectors within the industry," he said.
Republicans in Congress, who mostly oppose the government mandating lower carbon emissions, have argued doing so would raise U.S. consumer prices and encourage more companies to move abroad, resulting in job losses.
A think-tank report published on Friday, coordinated by the Institute for Public Policy Research in London, said 20 million jobs could be created in leading economies including the United States, China, India and Britain by 2020 if countries sought low-carbon policies. (Editing by John O'Callaghan)