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To what extent are tariffs offset by exchange rates?

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  • Jeanne, Olivier
  • Son, Jeongwon

Abstract

In theory, tariffs should be partially offset by a currency appreciation in the tariff-imposing country or by a depreciation in the country on which the tariff is imposed. We find, based on a calibrated model, that the tariffs imposed in the 2018-19 US-China tariff war should not have had a large impact on the dollar but may have significantly depreciated the renminbi. This prediction is consistent with a high-frequency event analysis looking at the impact of tariff-related news on the dollar and the renminbi. We find that tariff news explained at most one fifth of the dollar effective appreciation but around two thirds of the renminbi effective depreciation observed in 2018-19.

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  • Jeanne, Olivier & Son, Jeongwon, 2024. "To what extent are tariffs offset by exchange rates?," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 142(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jimfin:v:142:y:2024:i:c:s0261560624000020
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jimonfin.2024.103015
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    Cited by:

    1. Jeanne, Olivier & Son, Jeongwon, 2024. "To what extent are tariffs offset by exchange rates?," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 142(C).
    2. Paul Bergin & Giancarlo Corsetti, 2025. "Monetary Stabilization of Sectoral Tariffs," NBER Working Papers 33845, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    3. Dmitry Matveev & Francisco Ruge-Murcia, 2024. "Tariffs and the Exchange Rate: Evidence from Twitter," IMF Economic Review, Palgrave Macmillan;International Monetary Fund, vol. 72(3), pages 1185-1211, September.
    4. Zolfaghari, Mehdi, 2023. "How does US tariff policy affect the relationship among crude oil, the US dollar and metal markets?," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 85(PB).
    5. de Boer, Jantke & Eichler, Stefan & Rövekamp, Ingmar, 2024. "Protectionism, bilateral integration, and the cross section of exchange rate returns in US presidential debates," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 147(C).
    6. Khalil, Makram & Strobel, Felix, 2024. "US trade policy and the US dollar," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 151(C).
    7. Shekhar Hari Kumar & Vimal Balasubramaniam & Ila Patnaik & Ajay Shah, 2020. "Who cares about the Renminbi?," 2020 Papers pha1373, Job Market Papers.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Exchange rates; Tariffs; Dollar; Renminbi;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F31 - International Economics - - International Finance - - - Foreign Exchange
    • F41 - International Economics - - Macroeconomic Aspects of International Trade and Finance - - - Open Economy Macroeconomics

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