Playing Safe on China's Currency

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.