Brazil recently introduced a duty-free tariff rate quota that presents “new opportunities” for U.S. wheat exporters, according to a U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service report released Dec. 18. The quota for 750,000 metric tons of wheat imports will apply to non-Mercosur countries, USDA said, and will represent 10 percent of the country’s wheat imports during the last fiscal year. Brazil’s wheat millers association, Abitrigo, expects the TRQ to increase imports from the U.S., Canada and Russia, the USDA said, including an increase of $70 million in annual wheat exports from the U.S.

The State Department approved a potential military sale worth about $78 million to Argentina, according to a Dec. 19 press release from the Defense Security Cooperation Agency. The sale involves four P-3C aircraft and equipment, including engines, radars and infrared equipment. The prime contractors are Logistic Services International, Lockheed Martin Aircraft Center, Eagle Systems and Rockwell Collins.

The Directorate of Defense Trade Controls is canceling its 3 p.m. courier drop-off/pick-up this week due to “minimal staffing” during the holidays, the DDTC said Dec. 20. The DDTC Response Team and Help Desk will be open Monday, Thursday and Friday this week, but responses may be delayed until next week, “depending on volume.”

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative and the U.S. Department of Agriculture are seeking new members to serve on seven agricultural trade advisory committees, the agencies said Dec. 18. Members will advise both agencies on trade agreements and trade policy, and will provide technical advice on international trade issues that impact both foreign and domestic production in “specific commodity sectors,” the USTR said. The committees will focus on trade in animals and animal products, fruits and vegetables, grains, feed, seeds, processed foods, sweeteners, tobacco, cotton and peanuts. Applicants must have “significant expertise” in agriculture and international trade and will serve four-year terms. Members must also be willing to serve “without compensation for time, travel or expenses,” the USTR said. The committee holds “frequent” conference calls and generally meets in Washington, D.C., twice a year. Applications are due by 5 p.m. on Jan. 31, 2020, and can be found on the USDA website.

The U.S. and Japan recently agreed to new terms to allow the trade of poultry to continue in case of a highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) outbreak in the U.S., the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Foreign Agricultural Service said in a report released Dec. 16. The new measures allow Japan to restrict imports at the country level, rather than at the state level, if it “concludes that the outbreak is appropriately controlled in the affected country,” the report said. Along with general poultry products, the measures also impact “shell eggs” and other egg products exported from the U.S. to Japan. USDA updated its export certificates Dec. 10 to reflect the new conditions.

The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control released a quarterly report on licensing activities related to exports of agricultural goods, medicine and medical devices to Iran and Sudan from October to December 2018, OFAC said in a Dec. 17 notice. The report contains information on 36 of the licenses, including statistics on how many were approved or denied.

The Commerce Department Bureau of Industry and Security issued a correction for end-user information in the Code of Federal Regulations, in a notice in the Federal Register. The notice corrects an entry for Ibrahim Haqqani under Afghanistan.

The Commerce Department Bureau of Industry and Security is seeking comments on an information collection used to respond to congressional and industry requests to make “foreign availability determinations” about the Export Administration Regulations, according to a notice. In the information collection, exporters are urged to submit data to “support the contention” that items controlled for national security reasons are “available-in-fact, from a non-U.S. source, in sufficient quantity and of comparable quality so as to render the control ineffective.” Comments are due Feb. 10.

The Commerce Department Bureau of Industry and Security is seeking comments on an information collection related to requests for participation in foreign boycotts against countries friendly to the U.S., according to a notice. BIS analyzes the information to “note changing trends” and decide on actions to take to prevent participation in “foreign restrictive trade practices and boycotts.” Comments are due Feb. 10, 2020.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is scheduling seven trade missions in 2020 in an effort to “grow and diversify” export markets for U.S. agricultural exporters, according to a Dec. 5 press release. The agency is planning trade missions to North Africa, the Philippines, Spain and Portugal, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand, Peru, and the United Aram Emirates, making up the most trade missions the USDA's Foreign Agricultural Service has planned in one year. USDA conducted several trade missions in 2019 with industry representatives, including to Mexico (see 1911050024), West Africa (see 1910280030) and Vietnam (see 1910110050).