The White House has authorized additional steps to prevent "activities intended to evade U.S. economic and financial sanctions with respect to Iran and Syria," President Barack Obama said in a May 1 letter to the Speaker of the House. He said the steps are pursuant to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) (IEEPA).

The U.S. and Japan will cooperate more closely to strengthen the security and resiliency of the global supply chain and promote the timely, efficient flow of legitimate commerce, according to a White House fact sheet on U.S.-Japan Cooperative Initiatives issued along with a joint statement after President Obama met with Japanese Prime Minister Noda.

No "breakthrough announcement" on the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal is likely during Japanese Prime Minister Noda’s visit to Washington this week, a senior Obama administration official said in a briefing with reporters. "What the President believes and what I expect you will continue to hear is that he thinks that eliminating the barriers to trade between the first and the third-largest economies in the world could be a historic opportunity and that it carries great potential benefits," the official said. "The TPP countries have all said that they are prepared to meet the agreement’s very high standards. And it is an extremely complicated process. So I think that the pace of the process between the U.S. and Japan will be determined by how -- in the consultations that are underway -- folks in Japan find ways to address the key issues. I know that they will -- or I believe that they will certainly discuss the issue of TPP" during the visit, he said.