Business groups and lawmakers continued to press for Congress to extend normal trade ties as Russia joins the World Trade Organization after nearly two decades of talks.

Lawmakers failed to pass legislation before leaving for the August recess and the pressure is on, especially from business groups, to clear legislation during the brief session in September that would extend permanent normal trade relations to Moscow as it becomes the 156th member of the trade group. 

House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp (R-Mich.), whose panel approved a trade bill last month, said "while our competitors are reaping the benefits, we will not until the House, Senate and president act." 

"It is my hope that in September we build on the strong, bipartisan support in the Ways and Means Committee as well as the Senate Finance Committee and send legislation to the president for his signature," Camp said in a statement. 

A divided SEC approved regulations Wednesday that will force oil and mining companies to disclose payments to other countries.

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Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) writes that he is increasingly concerned that Iraqi entities are doing business with Iran.

Companies will be required to disclose whether they rely on minerals from the militia-ravaged Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has recommended to President Obama that Marine Gen. Joseph Dunford succeed Gen. John Allen as commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan, a U.S. official confirmed to The Hill.

The Pentagon’s recommendation of Dunford, which was first reported by The Wall Street Journal, could make him the second consecutive Marine general to lead the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan.

Dunford, currently the assistant commandant of the Marine Corps, still needs to be approved by President Obama before he is offered the job. He would also have to be confirmed by the Senate and approved by NATO.

Your morning global affairs speed-read

Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Near East Affairs Beth Jones leads an interagency team with defense and intelligence officials in Istanbul today to continue a bilateral discussion with Turkey about what to do in Syria. The meeting comes as France is “seriously mulling” the possibility of establishing a no-fly zone in Syria with the aim of protecting civilians, according to Syrian National Council leader Abdel Basset Sayda.

“We’re evaluating with our partners the effectiveness of what we are already doing,” said State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland when asked if no-fly zones will be on Jones's agenda. “And then we are looking at the ground situation, which is evolving very rapidly, and talking together about what more we can do together, what more we can do collectively to support the opposition, but against this litmus test that the secretary laid down when she was in Istanbul that we don’t want to increase the suffering of the Syrian people.”

Meanwhile, President Obama has come under fire for laying out a “red line” on chemical weapons that critics say could embolden Bashar Assad's regime to suppress the insurgency by any other means. [Washington Post]

Eastern promises: Today's the day Russia joins the World Trade Organization, but U.S. businesses won't reap the benefits of easier access to the Russian market after Congress failed to establish permanent normal trade relations before breaking for summer recess. Business leaders expect Congress to act next month.

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey visited Iraq on Tuesday for the first time since U.S. troops pulled out last year, where he said that the United States still has an important role to play.

“We still retain significant investment and significant influence. But now it's on the basis of a partnership and not on the basis of ownership," Dempsey told Agence France-Presse in an interview Tuesday.

Dempsey, who was the highest-ranking military officer to visit Iraq since 2011, met with Iraq’s Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and Army Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Babaker Zebari, according to AFP.

Senate Republicans are demanding that the State and Homeland Security secretaries answer questions about the number of immigrants on welfare rolls. Read more...