Donald Trump announced plans for tough new import-taxes on three main US trade partners — showing his hard-line approach to the drug crisis. He wants a 10% tax on Chinese goods and 25% on Mexican-Canadian imports (which would affect billions in trade)
Last year about 75k Americans died from synthetic drugs‚ making fentanyl the top killer of people aged 18-45. The drug supply-chain starts in China where chemical-makers produce ingredients; then Mexican drug-gangs make the final product and send it to US through border check-points
We need bold action. This kind of crisis requires something more than the status quo
The Biden administration worked with China this year and got some results: synthetic drug deaths went down almost 19% by mid-2024. US border agents caught lots of drugs‚ and China started helping more with stopping bad chemicals
- China makes most chemical ingredients
- Mexican cartels turn them into final drugs
- US citizens often carry drugs through ports
- Money-launderers in China help drug trade
Ray Donovan‚ ex-DEA operations chief thinks China isnt doing enough to stop chemicals. He says Mexico also cut back on helping US catch drugs. But some experts warn that trade-taxes might make China stop helping if theres a trade-war. Both Mexico and China dont like Trumps plan and might fight back with their own taxes
Doctor Margaret Williams from Ohio says we need more than just stopping drugs: we need better treatment access and help for people with mental-health problems. The current rules make it hard to get good addiction medicines like methadone