A top State Department official will advocate for U.S. aerospace technology companies at the United Arab Emirates’ Dubai Air Show Nov. 17-19, the State Department said in a Nov. 14 press release. R. Clarke Cooper, assistant secretary of state for political-military affairs, will hold meetings on “defense trade issues” with senior officials from the UAE and other countries, the State Department said. Cooper, along with senior representatives from the Defense and Commerce departments, also plans to meet with industry executives “to promote and advocate for more than 200 U.S. companies exhibiting the latest aerospace technologies.” Allowing allies to “more easily obtain” U.S. defense goods improves U.S. national security, the press release said.

The Trump administration applauded Brazil’s commitment to implement an annual duty-free tariff rate quota of 750,000 metric tons of wheat imports, saying the move signals a desire to deepen trade ties with the U.S. In a Nov. 14 statement, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said the TRQ will benefit U.S. wheat exporters. It “will allow our wheat exporters to compete on a level playing field,” Lighthizer said. “We look forward to increased exports of American wheat to Brazil.”

The Congressional Research Service issued a Nov. 7 report on the Export-Import Bank of the U.S., detailing issues surrounding the board’s previous lack of a quorum. The report also describes the bank's leadership, funding and the main issues in the bank’s reauthorization debate.

The State Department approved a potential military sale to the United Arab Emirates worth about $830 million, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a Nov. 7 press release. The sale includes 10 CH-47F Chinook cargo helicopters, 26 engines, 24 navigation systems, 12 missile warning systems, 20 “mini guns” and 20 machine guns, the DSCA said. The principal contractors are Pennsylvania-based Boeing Helicopters Aircraft Company, Arizona-based Honeywell Engine Company and Alabama-based Science and Engineering Services.

U.S. agriculture official Ted McKinney said pesticide maximum residue levels (MRLs) are too often used as trade barriers and praised an endorsement by the Inter-American Board of Agriculture that emphasized the need for global science-based agricultural regulations.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture and Secretary Sonny Perdue will travel to Mexico this week in the latest in a series of trade missions to try to expand market access for U.S. exporters, the USDA said Nov. 5. Perdue will also travel with Ted McKinney -- undersecretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs -- and about 40 industry representatives to “forge new opportunities” in Mexico, the USDA said. Previous trade missions this year include West Africa (see 1910280030) and Vietnam (see 1910110050).

The Directorate of Defense Trade Controls will hold an in-house seminar on April 8, 2020, the DDTC said in a Nov. 4 notice. Registration will open March 6 and close March 27, the DDTC said, and attendees will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis. To attend, send a completed registration form as an attachment to DDTCInHouseSeminars@state.gov.

The Directorate of Defense Trade Controls on Oct. 31 released two forms for public comment relating to disclosures of violations of the Arms Export Control Act. The first document is the disclosure form issued by the State Department, and the second document is instructions for completing the form. The agency asked for public comments on Oct. 28, and comments are due Nov. 27 (see 1910280029).

The Agriculture Department's Agricultural Marketing Service released new rules on domestic hemp production that do not contain regulations for exports, it said in a notice. "The 2018 Farm Bill allows for the interstate transportation" but "does not affect the exportation of hemp," it said. "Should there be sufficient interest in exporting hemp in the future, USDA will work with industry and other Federal agencies to help facilitate this process."

The State Department approved a potential military sale to Japan worth about $4.5 billion, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency said Oct. 29. The sale includes upgrades of 98 F-15J aircraft “to a Japanese Super Interceptor” configuration and calls for various radars, core processors and computers, the DSCA said. The prime contractors are Boeing Aircraft Company and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.