Max asks a good question:

For years... [we] have been told that if another country wants to subsidize their exports and penalize their imports, that is no concern of ours. We get cheaper goods and comparative advantage will push our labor force into their most efficient uses.

 

What is the difference between demanding a change in Chinese currency value, and, alternatively, trying to manipulate the terms of trade by other means, such as subsidizing U.S. industries, either severally or collectively?
 

(I'm not sure exactly how to answer that, but I would say that the whole currency peg debate is a bit of a red herring here in the first place.