US pulls back from broad import bans for cotton, tomatoes from China’s Xinjiang – Reuters

Dhwani Mehta FXStreet

The Trump administration rolled back its plans for an import ban on cotton and tomato products from China’s Xinjiang region, although announced a narrower ban on products from five specific entities, per Reuters.

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) acting Deputy Secretary Kenneth Cuccinelli said, “the new “Withhold Release Orders” (WROs) on cotton, textiles, apparel, hair products and computer parts are aimed at combating China’s use of forced labor by detained Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang.”

He said the administration was conducting more legal analysis of the region-wide import bans, he added.

The US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) acting Commissioner Mark Morgan said the agency’s investigations into the region-wide orders were continuing.

Last week, a spokesman from the CBP confirmed that the officials were ready with orders to suspend imports of cotton and tomato products from the Xinjiang province over accusations about forced labor.

Market implications

The positive development emerging between the US and China are likely to bolster the risk-on mood, as AUD/USD rallies 0.56% to trade near-daily highs of 0.7331.

Meanwhile, the S&P 500 futures head back towards 3,400, up 0.26% on the day.

Author

Dhwani Mehta

FXStreet

Residing in Mumbai (India), Dhwani is a Senior Analyst and Manager of the Asian session at FXStreet. She has over 10 years of experience in analyzing and covering the global financial markets, with specialization in Forex and commodities markets.

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