US - China Relations: US Will Retaliate If China Further Devalues Yuan

White House trade adviser Peter Navarro had strong words for China after its recent moves against the United States in the ongoing trade war.

“Clearly, they are manipulating their currency from a trade point of view,” Navarro said Friday. “They’re going to, and we’re going to take strong action against them… China has devalued its currency by over 10% with the express purpose of neutralizing tariffs, full stop.”

Speaking with CNBC, Navarro discussed China’s move earlier in the week to allow its yuan currency to drop as low as 7 to the dollar. This was seen by many as retaliation against new 10% tariffs imposed on Chinese by the Trump administration. China followed that up by ceasing the purchase of agricultural products from the U.S.

Trump himself blasted China’s move with the yuan, calling the country a “currency manipulator.”

Navarro insists that American farmers and consumers “will not be hurt by China.” Furthermore, he claimed that China will be the one to suffer blows from the new tariffs.

“China will bear virtually the entire burden of that through the currency manipulation and by slashing prices,” Navarro said. “China is the one that suffers far more harm than what might be inflicted on us.”

Former Ambassador to China Gary Locke, however, has claimed the exact opposite of Navarro’s promise.

“If President Trump goes ahead with the 10% tariffs on all remaining Chinese goods come Sept. 1, that’s really going to increase the price of things like electronics,” Locke said.

“Whether it’s game consoles to phones, clothing, Christmas decorations, and everything else -- and shoes… It’s really going to impact consumers even more and it’s certainly, with the Chinese announcement that they’re going to stop buying U.S. agricultural goods, that’s going to hurt our farmers. So this latest upping the ante of the trade war is not good for either side.”