GTR News Brief: Fresh scrutiny for banks in new US advisory on Xinjiang; Australian lenders defend coal exit; US sanctions break for Venezuela LPG export

Host Felix Thompson gives a breakdown of the major stories in trade and trade finance news this week.

The US government has signalled that banks face extra scrutiny over supply chains that include forced labour in the Chinese province of Xinjiang.

Australia’s banks have defended their decision to exit the thermal coal sector, pushing back against suggestions from government lawmakers that they be forced to extend financing to fossil fuels.

The US government’s decision to lift sanctions on liquefied petroleum gas exports to Venezuela should be seen as a “humanitarian gesture” rather than a wholesale shift in trade relations, experts suggest.

Senior reporter Eleanor Wragg also provides a closer analysis on why trade innovation risks being stranded on digital islands. 

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