The United Kingdom Parliament on Dec. 20 voted 358-234 to advance implementing legislation for the U.K.’s transition deal for its withdrawal from the European Union. The bill’s passage on its “second reading” means it will now head to committee, where amendments will be considered before the full Parliament votes on final passage of the bill after its “third reading.” A new provision added to the bill would legally prohibit the U.K. government from extending the transition period past Dec. 31, 2020, which has some worried about the prospect of a no-deal Brexit or a rushed final agreement with the EU (see 1912130063). Further parliamentary debate is currently set for Jan. 7-9, 2020, according to a BBC report. Once passed, the bill would also have to be rubber-stamped by the House of Lords.

The United Kingdom's Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation corrected an entry under its Venezuela sanctions regime, OFSI said in a Dec. 19 notice. The change amended identifying information for the listing for Tibisay Lucena Ramirez, who is still subject to an asset freeze, OFSI said.

Recent editions of Mexico's Diario Oficial list trade-related notices as follows:

The government of Canada issued the following trade-related notices as of Dec. 20 (note that some may also be given separate headlines):

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.”

Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., the strongest free trade advocate in the Senate, said he doesn't know if Republicans will return to their traditional position as pro-free trade. In response to a question from the audience at the American Enterprise Institute Dec. 19, he said it depends on whether President Donald Trump is re-elected in 2020.

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said the committee will hold a mock markup of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement on Jan. 7. “This markup will move us closer to ratifying USMCA in early 2020,” Grassley said Dec. 20. “Farmers, manufacturers and all American workers will soon be able to benefit from a stronger and modernized trade agreement with Canada and Mexico.”

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee passed a bill Dec. 18 that would impose “wide-ranging sanctions” on Russian companies and people involved in Ukraine interference, human rights abuses and more, the committee said in a press release. The bill would also sanction Russian banks that support the government’s effort to undermine democracy, sanction investment in Russian liquefied natural gas projects, and impose sanctions on Russia’s cyber sector, sovereign debt, political figures and oligarchs. The bill would also sanction members of Russia’s shipbuilding sector that prohibit free navigation, and designate state-owned energy projects outside of Russia. The bill has strong bipartisan support and next heads to the Senate floor.