Among Washington’s weapons in its negotiations with Beijing is the nuclear option: blocking Chinese imports unilaterally in retaliation for an undervalued renminbi.
In the spirit of creating a credible threat, the House of Representatives recently voted for a bill that would allow the US to do just that. But the bill was considerably watered down from more drastic earlier versions – and the signs are that it is likely to remain a potential rather than an actual weapon in the near-term.
The bill, which commanded a comfortable majority in the House, would allow the Commerce department to take estimates of currency undervaluation into account when calculating the “countervailing duties” that it can impose on imports it deems state-subsidised.