US ready to implement ban on Xinjiang goods, China eyes to keep sanctions on Australia

“US authorities are ready to implement a ban on imports from China's Xinjiang region when a law requiring it becomes enforceable later in June, a US Customs official said on Wednesday,” per Reuters. The news adds that a "very high" level of evidence would be required for an exemption, said the source mentioned.

Key quotes

The law includes a "rebuttable presumption" that all goods from Xinjiang, where Chinese authorities established detention camps for Uyghurs and other Muslim groups, are made with forced labor, and bars their import unless it can be proven otherwise.

China denies abuses in Xinjiang, a major cotton producer that also supplies much of the world's materials for solar panels, and says the law "slanders" the country's human rights situation.

Elsewhere, China's Ambassador to Australia, Xiao Qian, says Beijing is ready to talk to Australia’s new government without preconditions. The diplomat, however, mentioned that China's punitive trade sanctions will not be dropped while also saying, “This will not happen until there is an improvement in the “political relationship” between Canberra and Beijing.”

FX reaction

Forex markets failed to offer any immediate reaction to the news but the AUD/USD remains pressured around the 0.7170 level after reversing from a one-month high the previous day.

Read: AUD/USD bulls could be about to throw in the towel, but the 38.2% Fibo is key