Commerce Department Huawei export restrictions forced semiconductor maker Xilinx to remove all remaining Huawei-related “revenue expectations” from its financial outlook for fiscal 2020 ending in March, CEO Victor Peng said on a fiscal Q2 call Oct. 23. “Considering the continued trade restrictions with Huawei and the uncertainty presented to our business, we believe it is prudent” to “de-risk” the Chinese company from the forecast, Peng said.

In the Oct. 25 editions of the Official Journal of the European Union the following trade-related notices were posted:

Britain's Department for International Trade recently held 130 workshops to help small businesses “continue and increase their trade” after Britain leaves the European Union and plans to launch a “market access database” for traders, according to an Oct. 25 press release. The DIT said it invited “thousands” of small businesses to the workshops to “develop personalised plans” for trade after Brexit, discussing which paperwork businesses need to continue exporting and the impact of Brexit on supply chains. The DIT also clarified changes to regulations and contracts and where to find tariff confirmation, commodity codes and duty rates.

The government of Canada issued the following trade-related notices as of Oct. 25 (note that some may also be given separate headlines):

Japan Trade Minister Isshu Sugawara resigned Oct. 25 following allegations that he violated election law, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said, according to an unofficial translation. Sugawara’s duties involved filling a “key post” in Japan’s ongoing trade dispute with South Korea (see 1910240032), according to Reuters. Abe asked Hiroshi Kajiyama, a former member of Abe’s Cabinet, to fill the role. Abe hopes to quickly fill the role to avoid “delay in the important administrative and policy-making fields such as industrial policy, trade policy, and energy policy,” he said.

Indonesia’s president instructed officials to increase the country's exports in new and revised trade agreements, the government’s Ministry of Trade said Oct. 25, according to an unofficial translation. Indonesia wants to increase commodity exports that lack “opportunity” in foreign markets, the notice said. "For example, the products we export to the United States, but other countries with similar goods come in better. It means cheaper, deals with tariffs and so on," an Indonesian official said. As part of its plans, Indonesia said it plans to cut regulations that impede exports, the notice said.

India said many traders are “not doing due diligence” while entering Harmonized System codes in bills of entry and shipping bills, and warned that violators will be subject to penalties, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry said in an Oct. 22 notice. The country said “many importers” are not entering “the correct HS codes at 8 digit level,” creating “avoidable errors in India's import data.” Traders should “indicate the specific HS codes of items at 8 digit [level] where they exist, instead of using the ‘Others’ category in a loose and inaccurate manner,” the notice said.

China recently combined its foreign trade operator and place of origin certificates, shifting customs responsibilities among government agencies, according to an Oct. 25 report from the Hong Kong Trade Development Council. The country’s commerce regulators will now be responsible for “record-maintenance, data collection and all relevant notifications,” while customs officers “will receive and input any required records” relating to the certificates, the report said.

Australia’s customs agency recently reissued a guidance on the “voluntary disclosure of post-importation adjustments,” reminding importers they must disclose any goods-related transfer pricing adjustments “as soon as the importer becomes aware of them,” according to an Oct. 24 post from KPMG. Importers must also disclose certain other payments and costs “not included in the customs value of the goods at the time of importation,” KPMG said, including royalties, license fees, research and development costs, certain commissions, proceeds from selling the goods and “any other goods-related payments.” Under Australia’s “customs self-assessment regime,” importers are required to determine what payments must be included in the customs value, the post said, and non-disclosures are subject to infringement notices and penalties.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture released a report Oct. 25 on prospects for U.S. exporters in West Africa, saying certain countries in the region are unable to meet agricultural demand and present “plenty of opportunities” for U.S. exporters. The countries include Côte d’Ivoire, the Gambia, Ghana, Nigeria and Senegal. The report contains detailed trade analysis and key agricultural trade prospects for each nation, including which exports have the most potential. While the USDA said some “challenges and trade barriers do exist in the region” -- including bans on certain poultry products -- the U.S. should be aiming to build better relationships with West Africa, which will lead to more market access in other African regions.