America has slowly been suffocating financially under the stress of the doggie collar the Chinese have placed around its neck. China, the second largest trading partner of the US has been undervaluing its own currency to keep the price of American imports high, and Chinese exports low.

America is striking back with the introduction of legislation that would impose higher duties on Chinese products to counteract the devalued Yuan. While supporters of this legislation state that an appreciation in the Yuan would foster more jobs in America and reduce debt, the opposition states that China may stop trading with the US altogether and jobs would not be created because other low cost manufacturing countries would take China’s place.

The problem with this legislation is: it is too little too late. China has been devaluing their Yuan for quite awhile now, buying up American dollars to slow the decrease in value of American currency. The US should’ve acted quicker when they weren’t drowning in debt. Now the American economy is too reliant on its trade with China and Chinese loans to effectively counter with a retaliatory economic policy.

It’s a classic situation of damned if you do, and damned if you don’t.