* Obama wants corporate tax reform; hurdles high
* Adviser: business cooperation a must for tax, trade deals (Adds context, background)
WASHINGTON, March 30 (Reuters) - U.S. corporate tax reform could be accomplished this year if agreement can be reached among businesses and policymakers on simplifying the tax code and devoting the savings to cutting rates, said a senior Obama administration economic adviser on Wednesday.
"If we can come together. we have a chance to do something very significant this year with this Congress and with this president," said Gene Sperling, director of the National Economic Council, at a U.S. Chamber of Commerce event.
He cautioned, however, that agreement will not happen without cooperation from business.
"This is not going to happen if the attitude of each company or business is simply to go to one's accountant and figure out if you are a winner or loser in the particular year that the bill is passed," he said.
President Barack Obama has said he wants to trim the U.S. corporate tax rate, now at 35 percent, among the highest in the industrialized world. Most companies pay far less, with deductions and credits that are not evenly spread across the business community.
Most observers believe the chances are low that a deal on revamping corporate taxes will happen before the 2012 presidential election, given the inevitable winners and losers that would result from such an overhaul.
Sperling added that the administration is working on winning congressional approval for free trade agreements, particularly with Colombia.
Like corporate tax reform, Sperling said he sees trade as an area of common ground with the business community.
"We're very committed to moving forward on the trade agenda," he said. "As we speak, we are working very hard to resolve the outstanding issues in the Colombia free trade agreement."
The administration is working to get Congress to pass trade deals with Colombia, Panama and South Korea. (Reporting by Kevin Drawbaugh and Kim Dixon; Editing by Gerald E. McCormick and Tim Dobbyn)