The American Apparel & Footwear Association issued a statement welcoming the publication of the National Intellectual Property Strategy by the Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission has announced a closed meeting on June 30, 2010, in which the staff will brief the Commission on various compliance matters.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has issued a proposed rule to make requirements for distributors of sources and devices containing byproduct material clearer, less prescriptive, and more risk-informed and up to date, and to redefine categories of devices to be used under exemptions, among other things. Comments are due by September 7, 2010.

The Department of Transportation has announced that it is loaning $850 million loan to the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area to reconstruct the existing road and add new toll lanes to I-635, more commonly known as the LBJ Freeway.

The Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) has issued a notice that lists those applying for ocean transportation intermediary licenses as a non-vessel-operating common carrier (NVOCC), ocean freight forwarder (FF) or NVOCC/FF OTI, as follows:

U.S. Trade Representative Kirk met with Indian Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma on June 22 to review progress on the U.S.-India bilateral trade agenda. The two agreed to continue to work together to meet the objectives set out in the Framework for Cooperation on Trade and Investment (signed on March 17, 2010) and to enhance opportunities for bilateral trade and investment . In addition, Kirk urged India to address longstanding impediments, such as investment caps, agricultural market access barriers, high tariffs, intellectual property rights, and the need for continuing regulatory streamlining and transparency.

Transportation Secretary LaHood has awarded $6 million to help address the parking shortage for commercial trucks on five U.S. interstates: I-15 in Utah, I-10 in Mississippi, I-5 in Oregon, I-40 in Tennessee, and I-81 in Pennsylvania. The funds will be used to add parking capacity and continue to develop innovative ways to provide updated information on space availability to commercial truck drivers along these heavily traveled freight corridors.

The State Department, World Health Organization, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have recently issued the following travel warnings, travel alerts, country specific information sheets, and disease outbreak-related information:

U.S. Trade Representative Kirk and Deputy USTR Marantis met with members of the Trade and Environment Policy Advisory Committee (TEPAC). They were joined by Environmental Policy Agency Administrator Jackson as the group discussed trade issues with regard to the environment. The Committee’s agenda included a summary of the latest Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations in San Francisco, a discussion of the current status of the World Trade Organization Doha Round talks, climate change developments, and USTR’s expectations for the 2011 APEC meetings.

The Environmental Protection Agency has released interim guidance on the agency’s chemical safety inspections process. Under the interim guidance, EPA inspectors will offer employees and employee representatives the opportunity to participate in chemical safety inspections. In addition, EPA will request that state and local agencies adopt similar procedures under the Risk Management Program. A final guidance document will be available later this year. More information on EPA’s interim guidance and RMP available here.