Trump’s tariffs won’t solve the opioid crisis, but a deal with China might
To make synthetic drugs like fentanyl, all you need is $3,600 and an internet connection. It’s quite easy — wholly different from the fields of poppies guarded by hired guns or the complex factories run by genius chemists of yesteryear.
To make fentanyl, you don’t need an advanced degree or farmland. You can get the materials shipped to you and make the fentanyl right on your kitchen counter. That makes regulation very hard.
On Mar. 4, President Trump implemented an additional 10 percent tariff against China for its role in the export of illegal opioids to the U.S. That’s on top of his 10 percent tariff on China implemented last month for the same reason.
Tariffs aren’t likely to affect shipments of fentanyl or related chemicals, because they are often shipped in small amounts that do not incur tariff charges. However, that doesn’t mean that the tariffs have no impact. They provide leverage that Trump should use to strike a deal with China to more comprehensively regulate its pharmaceutical and chemical industries.
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Read more of Ransom’s article in The Hill
Ransom Miller is a research associate at the Institute for Global Affairs at Eurasia Group.
