The Office of Foreign Assets Control has issued a final rule, effective June 16, 2010, which amends the Iranian Transactions Regulations to expand the scope of persons determined to be the Government of Iran in Appendix A to 31 CFR Part 560, and adds to the appendix 22 persons, among other things. The Treasury Department also announced new ITR designations, available here.

The Food and Drug Administration, Center for Tobacco Products will host a Web-based public meeting on June 30, 2010 to discuss issues regarding the development of an enforcement action plan to enforce restrictions on promotion and advertising of menthol and other cigarettes to youth. Comments are due by August 2, 2010.

The Coast Guard is correcting the preamble to its June 17, 2010 proposed rule, “Bulk Solid Hazardous Materials: Harmonization with the International Maritime Solid Bulk Cargoes (IMSBC) Code,” to provide correct information with regard to the preliminary environmental analysis checklist.

The Federal Maritime Commission has issued Federal Register notice of its partially open meeting on June 23, 2010, in which FMC is scheduled to consider complaints or inquiries from individual shippers of household goods or private automobiles in open session; and interim report findings on vessel capacity in closed session, among other things.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission, Health Canada, and the European Commission’s Directorate General for Health and Consumers have joined together to call for strong and comprehensive international safety standards on corded window coverings from manufacturers and standards organizations.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission has updated its list of meetings between CPSC and industry stakeholders that are open to the public, unless otherwise stated:

U.S. Trade Representative Kirk met with United Arab Emirates Minister for Foreign Trade, Lubna al-Qasimi. Kirk and Lubna discussed a number of issues important to the bilateral trade relationship, including the potential for increasing the already strong U.S. business presence in the UAE.

The U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission announces a public hearing on June 30, 2010 in Washington, DC entitled “China’s Information Control Practices and the Implications for the United States,” regarding national security implications of the U.S. bilateral trade and economic relationship with China.

Commissioner Nord of the Consumer Product Safety Commission has posted a podcast in which she and fellow Commissioner Adler discussed their differing views on the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008, as well as how they reached those conclusions.

The Congressional Research Service has issued a report entitled, “The Future of U.S. Trade Policy: An Analysis of Issues and Options for the 111th Congress.”