Why the US Can’t Win the Trade War With China – and Shouldn’t Try
At the heart of Sino-American trade tensions is the claim that China’s surging exports are a result of Chinese subsidies. But the driving force behind this glut of cheap goods is a significantly undervalued renminbi, a result of high capital outflows caused by both domestic policies and US restrictions on investment in China.
BEIJING – Allegations about China’s manufacturing overcapacity have sparked heated discussions among policymakers. During her visit to China in April, US Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen argued that “when the global market is flooded by artificially cheap Chinese products, the viability of American and other foreign firms is put into question,” adding that it was the same story a decade ago.