The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is accepting nominations for members to serve on any of 15 Industry Trade Advisory Committees (ITACs) for a new four-year “charter term” ending in February 2026, the agency said in a notice. ITACs, under a program run jointly by USTR and the Commerce Department, “provide detailed policy and technical advice, information, and recommendations” on trade barriers, negotiation of trade agreements and the implementation of existing trade agreements affecting industry sectors,” the notice says. ITACs also “perform other advisory functions relevant to U.S. trade policy matters,” it says. There’s no deadline for applications, as the program “will accept nominations throughout the charter term,” it says.

The Biden administration will send a Patriot missile defense system to Slovakia after the country transferred an S-300 air defense system to Ukraine. Sending the missile defense system to Slovakia will “enable” the defense transfer to Ukraine and “ensure the continued security of Slovakia,” the White House said April 8. The U.S. will “spare no effort to identify and provide to the Ukrainian military the advanced weapons capabilities it needs to defend its country” from Russia, the White House said.

The State Department approved a potential $73 million sale of military equipment to Argentina, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency said April 8. The sale includes “T-6 Aircraft Sustainment” and other related equipment. The principal contractor will be Textron Aviation Defense.

The Los Angeles and Long Beach ports again postponed by a week a new surcharge meant to incentivize the movement of dwelling containers (see 2110280031), the two ports announced April 8. The ports had planned to begin imposing the fee in November 2021 but have postponed it each week since. The latest extension delays the effective date until April 15.

President Joe Biden didn’t ask Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to stop buying Russian gas during an April 11 virtual discussion, despite India's continued purchases of Russian oil at a discount. The U.S. plans to respect India’s energy decisions, a senior administration official said, adding the country’s purchases of Russian energy represent only about 2% of its total energy imports. “We've been very clear that we've been able to ban oil and [liquefied natural gas] and coal imports from Russia,” the official said during an April 11 call with reporters after the two leaders held a virtual meeting. “Other countries have to make their own choices.”

The Bureau of Industry and Security on April 8 removed several planes from its list of restricted Russian aircraft after they were “authorized to leave Russia,” an agency spokesperson said. The aircraft belong to AirBridgeCargo, Atran, Azur Air and Royal Flight. BIS last week issued temporary denial orders for three Russian airlines but said it is accepting authorization requests from aircraft owners to continue to fly the planes once they’re out of Russia and Russian control (see 2204070012).

Many nations that rely on Ukraine for wheat are shifting their purchases to other countries due to issues caused by Russia’s war in Ukraine, the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service said in an April 6 report. The agency said Ukraine, which accounts for 10% of the global wheat trade, is losing buyers to the EU, India, Australia and Argentina. Some buyers may turn to U.S. wheat exports, USDA said, but American wheat typically costs more than other suppliers'. U.S. corn exporters, however, could “bridge any global supply gap” caused by the war in Ukraine, which accounts for about 15% of global corn trade. Argentina, Australia, Canada and the EU could fill the gap for barley exports, USDA said. The agency specifically said Argentina and potentially Australia “are expected to have high exportable supplies” due to record harvests.

The U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission created a new webpage to list "key actions and statements summarizing China’s official position on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which began on February 24, 2022," the USCC said. "Items highlighted include China’s official government statements, press conferences, messages to the international community, media publications, and where available, leaked internal Chinese Communist Party (CCP) guidance for media and propaganda outlets."

The U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission on April 6 issued an updated table of Chinese companies listed on the Nasdaq, the New York Stock Exchange and the NYSE American. As of March 31, 261 Chinese companies were listed on those U.S. exchanges. The list was last updated in May (see 2105130021).

The State Department approved a potential $95 million sale of military equipment to Taiwan, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency said April 5. The sale includes “contractor technical assistance support” for the “Patriot Air Defense System” and other related equipment. The prime contractor will be Raytheon Technologies.