The State Department approved a potential $39 million sale of defense items to Ukraine, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in an Oct. 3 press release. The sale includes 150 Javelin missiles and 10 Javelin command launch units, the press release said. The prime contactor is Washington-based Raytheon Company.

The Congressional Research Service released a report Oct. 3 on the U.S.-Japan trade agreement, detailing the scope of the two sides’ initial agreement and potential topics of future talks. The report also explains the increased U.S. market access for agriculture exports and issues Congress may consider in the coming weeks -- in light of the Trump administration's "decision to pursue a limited scope trade agreement with Japan in stages," while also considering tariff actions under Section 232 -- such as which industry sectors the U.S. trade representative should prioritize in future talks and what role, if any, Congress should have in the negotiations.

House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal, D-Mass., is leading a delegation on a two-day trip to Mexico that began Oct. 7 to talk to Mexican government officials and local workers. The Democrat working group is struggling with the Mexican Labor Department budget for the coming fiscal year (see 1909270050 and 1909260038). Neal is accompanied by Rep. Bill Pascrell, D-N.J., who has said the new NAFTA is "not near" to being acceptable (see 1909180036). He's also accompanied by Reps. Dan Kildee, D-Mich., and Jimmy Panetta, D-Calif. The sole other member of the working group in the delegation is Rep. Jimmy Gomez, D-Calif.

The Environmental Protection Agency is proposing new reporting requirements for seven chemicals under significant new use rules. The proposed SNURs would require notification to EPA at least 90 days in advance of a new use by importers, manufacturers or processors. Importers of chemicals subject to these proposed SNURs would need to certify their compliance with the SNUR requirements should these proposed rules be finalized, EPA said. Exporters of these chemicals would become subject to export notification requirements. Comments on the proposed SNURs are due Nov. 7.

The U.S. and Japan officially signed their initial trade deal during a brief signing ceremony at the White House on Oct. 7, setting up a potential Jan. 1 effective date. The text of the new deal is now posted to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative's website. So is the text of a concurrent deal on digital trade.

The Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security added 28 entities to its Entity List for their involvement in human rights violations of China’s Uighur population, BIS said Oct. 7. The entities include Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region People’s Government Public Security Bureau, 18 of its subsidiaries and eight China-based technology and science companies, including Hikvision, a major supplier of video surveillance products. The announcement takes effect Oct. 9.

The World Customs Organization issued the following release on commercial trade and related matters:​​

In the Oct. 4 edition of the Official Journal of the European Union the following trade-related notices were posted:

The United Kingdom and Tunisia signed a trade continuity agreement Oct. 4 to ensure the countries can trade under current terms after a potential no-deal Brexit on Oct. 31, the U.K. Department for International Trade said in a press release. The agreement would continue "tariff-free trade of industrial products together with liberalisation of trade in agricultural, agri-food and fisheries products," the UKDIT said. The deal would continue trade after Brexit on the terms of the association agreement currently in place between the European Union and Tunisia.

Italy is making several amendments to its value-added tax regulations, including a “mandatory check” on the customer’s VAT identification number, KPMG said in an Oct. 4 post. The changes also include “increased legal certainty and harmonized application of VAT rules” for VAT treatment of “chain transactions” and modified VAT rules for “call-off stock arrangements” between VAT-registered businesses in European Union member states, the post said. Before the regulations take effect Jan. 1, 2020, companies should verify that their customers have valid VAT identification numbers and validate “current procedures for collecting and retaining documentary evidence of intra-EU transports of goods,” KPMG said.