FSCJ professor says China dropping currency value could escalate trade war, raise prices of goods

With the U.S Treasury Department labeling China a currency manipulator in the latest move in the ongoing trade battle, we're looking into what that means for your wallet.

Justin Bateh is a business professor at Florida State Collage at Jacksonville, and he says the move by China is a way for the country to make their exports seem cheaper. But that could also lead to more sanctions, escalating the trade war even further.

"We have the choice of either delaying purchases, which will slow down our economy because people just won't buy things hoping the prices will decrease, or you start to look at choosing alternatives to imported goods which could mean higher-priced items if they exist," Bateh says.

Bateh says stores like Macy's and Walmart among others have already said they will start increasing prices. So he says things like televisions, paper towels, toilet paper and other goods from China will slowly start to cost more money.

His advice is to be more aware of where the items you buy are coming from and decide if that's a cost you want to absorb as the prices go up. It’s a matter of which sacrifices you’re willing to make and which products you’re willing to pay more for, Bateh says.

"This kind of offsets the tariff strike and [now] we get into a [trade] war situation," Bateh says of China's latest move.

He says that trade war isn't ending anytime soon, and that means you'll be paying a lot more on plenty of items you might not want to live without.