US exports are also down 12%, the Chinese government embargoed all purchases of US Agricultural goods by State owned Enterprises (SOEs), which constitute about

US exports are also down 12%, the Chinese government embargoed all purchases of US Agricultural goods by State owned Enterprises (SOEs), which constitute about 1/3rd of China's GDP. Thus, the US trade deficit has been made worse, the US will continue to import from China. China's central bank owns a huge chunk of US debt, so in effect, this is being covered by the US government over the long term, i.e. see the _Twin Deficits Hypothesis_ that federal deficits and trade deficits are related. Also, the central bank in China didn't do anything to devalue the yuan, it was propping it up. A tariff decreases demand, ergo, it decreases demand for RMB vs USD, ergo, exchange rates drop and the yuan becomes cheaper from lower demand. There's a "symmetry theorem" in economics that predicts this outcome to restore equilibrium (trade deficits offset by currency adjustment). So let's stop trying to cook up more excuses for Trump's trade policy. His own economic advisers disagree with it, and the fiction that "mexico" or "china" will pay for these tariff actions he's taking is a straight up lie to the citizens of the country.