Postponing the ruling on whether China is a “currency manipulator”, which had been due on April 15th, makes sense. China’s currency policy is misguided, and it does hurt the US. But a mechanical ratcheting up of pressure to deploy trade sanctions is unlikely to solve the problem. This path is also very risky–and not just so far as economic policy is concerned. In this new column for the Financial Times I argue for a safer and, I think, more productive approach.
