Trump plans huge trade taxes on China and Mexico to fight deadly drug crisis
Former president wants to hit US biggest trade partners with new import taxes over drug trafficking issues. His plan targets China-made chemicals and Mexican border control with strict trade-rules
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
