China | Econofact

Is China Weakening the Yuan to Fight U.S. Tariffs?

By Michael Klein·August 7, 2018
Fletcher School, Tufts University

The Issue:

The Chinese currency has declined in value against the dollar by over 7 percent since mid-May. This lowers the cost of Chinese exports to the United States and could help counteract the effect of United States tariffs that would make imports from China more expensive. The Trump administration has interpreted ...
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What is the Problem of Forced Technology Transfer in China?

By Lee Branstetter·August 3, 2018
Carnegie Mellon University and Peterson Institute for International Economics

The Issue:

Much of the focus of the Trump administration's trade dispute with China has centered on the size of the U.S. bilateral trade deficit. Most economists agree that this focus is misdirected, and that the existence or size of bilateral trade deficits should not generally be a matter of concern or a target ...
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Can Both the United States and China Be Winners in a Global Technology Race?

By Jennifer Hunt·July 25, 2018
Rutgers University

The Issue:

Recent trade barriers erected by the Trump administration are motivated in part by fear of China’s “Made in China 2025” program. This program aims to increase Chinese innovation and upgrade the production methods used in Chinese manufacturing from labor-intensive to high-tech. There is also anxiety ...
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U.S. Trade Policy: Going it Alone vs. Abiding by the World Trade Organization

By Jeffry Frieden and Joel Trachtman·June 15, 2018
Harvard University and The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University

The Issue:

The World Trade Organization (WTO) administers a multilateral system that promotes world trade. The Trump administration has complained that the WTO is unfair to the United States, and seems to favor America acting outside WTO rules to induce other countries to enter into better deals with the U.S. Recent ...
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What Do We Learn from Bilateral Trade Deficits?

By Marc Melitz and Michael Klein·May 25, 2017
Harvard University and Fletcher School, Tufts University

The Issue:

The Trump administration proposes using United States’ trade deficits with its trading partners to gauge whether the trading relationship with that country is “fair.” An executive order signed on March 31 requires officials to produce an “omnibus” report naming U.S. trading partners with “significant” ...
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Import Limits on Steel and Aluminum: Protecting National Security or Protectionism?

By Menzie Chinn·May 9, 2017
Robert M. La Follette School, University of Wisconsin-Madison

The Issue:

The Trump Administration has proposed a number of trade related measures purportedly on the basis of national security. The first involves invoking a seldom-used provision of the trade law to investigate whether imposing import restrictions for steel and aluminum is justified by national security reasons. ...
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Is China a Non-Market Economy, and Why Does It Matter?

By Joel Trachtman·April 12, 2017
Fletcher School, Tufts University

The Issue:

Under the legal structure of the World Trade Organization, the designation of China as a "non-market economy" allows its trading partners, including the United States, to use a special framework to determine whether China's exports are being sold at unfairly low prices and, if that is found to be the case, ...
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Is China a Currency Manipulator?

By Michael Klein·January 20, 2017
Fletcher School, Tufts University

The Issue:

Donald Trump has said that, upon taking office, he will declare China a currency manipulator. Many Americans, understandably angered by factory closings and job loss seemingly due to Chinese competition, appear to support this. An artificially cheap yuan enables Chinese exporters to unfairly undercut ...
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