President-elect of the United States of America, Donald J. Trump is poised to increase import tariffs for China as America faces an outrageous influx of fentanyl from the Asian country.
Fentanyl is a powerful synthetic opioid originally developed in the 1960s as a painkiller for medical use. It is approximately 50-100 times more potent than morphine and is used in controlled doses to manage severe pain, such as in cancer patients or during surgery. However, its misuse has fueled a devastating drug crisis in the United States.
Advisors to the Republican president-elect’s transition team are advocating a much more aggressive posture towards Beijing over fentanyl than the one adopted by Democratic incumbent Joe Biden.
Trump in a recent social media post promised an additional 10% tariff on goods from China, and 25% duties on merchandise from Mexico and Canada. Trump claimed these nations have not taken strong enough action to stop illicit drugs, particularly fentanyl, from entering the United States. He said his many talks with China about stopping the flow of drugs were “to no avail.”
Other measures to combat the illicit trafficking of these drugs are being deliberated on by Trump’s advisors – keenly pushing for U.S sanctions on Chinese financial institutions allegedly associated with the fentanyl trade. Trump will make the final decision on what direction to take regarding these measures.
