We're just pinballing around looking for a silver bullet here. The reality is we save and invest too little and purchase too much from abroad. Like fnid says,

We're just pinballing around looking for a silver bullet here. The reality is we save and invest too little and purchase too much from abroad. Like fnid says, the way to address the problem is a function of changing American behavior and increasing the value of our exports while saving more. This requires us to put off consumption in this generation for the benefit of the next one--sadly, this is the last thing Americans are going to sign up to do, ergo the search for a magic quick fix. The Chinese response to a "surcharge" seems pretty obvious. China does purchase a lot of US exports--they're financial products aka Treasuries. America needs China to keep buying this to keep its whole leveraged jenga-stack of an economy intact. Devaluing US debt would hurt China, but it would hurt the US a lot more. Which Krugman is talking is usually an important distinction... brilliant economist Krugman or OpEd/best-selling author Krugman?