Australian Trade Minister: Carefully and closely watching US-China phase one purchases for signs of trade diversion

In an interview with the South China Morning Post (SCMP) late Monday, Australia’s Trade Minister Simon Birmingham said that Canberra is looking “carefully and closely” at US-China trade flows.

He added that while “the full nature or implications of this arrangement may not be clear for some time,” Australia is on the lookout for trade diversion that could hit its own exports to China.

These comments come after Bloomberg quoted some sources on Monday, saying that the Chinese government officials have told major state-run agricultural firms to pause purchases of some American farm goods, including soybeans, as Beijing evaluates the tensions with the US over the issue over the Hong Kong new security law.

more to come ....