President Donald Trump first announced the plan to impose tariffs on China in November 2024.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he is considering imposing a 10 percent tariff on Chinese imports in response to China’s failure to curb fentanyl trafficking into the United States.
Trump, who was sworn in for a second term on Monday, said that his administration could start implementing tariffs on products coming from China as early as Feb. 1.
“We’re talking about a tariff of 10 percent on China based on the fact that they’re sending fentanyl to Mexico and Canada,” the president told reporters at the White House.
Trump also signaled that he may impose 25 percent tariffs on Mexico and Canada on Feb. 1 over their failures to address illegal immigration and the fentanyl flow into the United States.
His remarks followed a memo he signed on Jan. 20, directing the U.S. trade representative and the Commerce and Treasury departments to review any unfair trade practices by other countries and recommend appropriate actions to remedy such practices.
The memo also directs the U.S. Trade Representative to investigate practices by the Chinese communist regime that may be deemed “unreasonable” or could “burden” U.S. commerce, and to recommend appropriate responsive actions.
It requires the Commerce and Homeland Security departments to assess illegal immigration and fentanyl flows from Canada, Mexico, and China, and recommend appropriate trade and security measures to address those problems.
Trump first announced the plan to impose tariffs on China in November 2024, stating that the Chinese regime had not done enough to help the United States stop fentanyl from flowing into the country. He mentioned that he had held numerous talks with Chinese officials about curbing drug trafficking, particularly fentanyl, into the United States, but China had failed to fulfill its promises.
“Representatives of China told me that they would institute their maximum penalty, that of death, for any drug dealers caught doing this but, unfortunately, they never followed through, and drugs are pouring into our country, mostly through Mexico, at levels never seen before,” he stated on Truth Social on Nov. 26, 2024.
“Until such time as they stop, we will be charging China an additional 10% tariff, above any additional tariffs, on all of their many products coming into the United States of America.”
Fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid, is the leading cause of death for Americans aged between 18 and 45. More than 107,000 overdose deaths were recorded in the U.S. in 2023, most of which were linked to fentanyl, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
A report released last year by the U.S. House Select Committee on Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) identified China as the “ultimate geographic source” of the fentanyl crisis in the United States.
The report found that Chinese companies are the main producers of precursors used to make fentanyl. It accused the CCP regime of supporting the manufacturing and export of fentanyl by offering tax rebates and monetary grants.
“Rather than investigating drug traffickers, PRC [People’s Republic of China] security services have not cooperated with U.S. law enforcement and have even notified targets of U.S. investigations when they received requests for assistance,” it stated.