Trump: “Additional Tariffs on China Until Drug Issue Stops”
China: “Fentanyl Cooperation is a Favor, Don’t Take it for Granted”
[Beijing – By Myeongcheol Lee, Reporter] U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has announced a 10% additional tariff on China, citing the issue of fentanyl, also known as the “zombie drug.” China, which has been cooperating with the U.S. in blocking fentanyl, immediately rebuked, saying not to take their goodwill for granted.
On November 27, China’s state-run Global Times reported, “China urges the U.S. not to take China’s goodwill for granted and to strive to maintain the positively earned dynamics in drug eradication cooperation.”
On a question regarding the influx of fentanyl to the U.S., China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning stated, “China is one of the most stringent countries in terms of drug policies and implementation, and fentanyl is America’s problem.” She added, “China officially started regulating all fentanyl-related substances in early 2019, the first in the world to do so.”
Trump announced on November 25 (local time) that he would impose a 10% additional tariff on China immediately after taking office on January 20, stating that this would remain in effect until the drug issues, including fentanyl, and illegal immigrants’ invasion, ceases.
Drugs are a significant social issue in the U.S., and it is believed that fentanyl is being massively imported from China. U.S. President Joe Biden also officially requested China to manage fentanyl, and related discussions have remained ongoing since the bilateral summit last year.
Mao emphasized, “China has conducted extensive and in-depth cooperation with the U.S. on drug control, achieving highly productive outcomes, which is an obvious fact known by everyone.”
President-elect Trump had declared a tariff increase on China during his candidacy. Given that he announced the tariff increase on his inauguration day, turmoil in U.S.-China relations seems inevitable.
Gao Lingyun, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, stated in an interview with GT, “The U.S. government uses tariffs as a negotiation card or a means to achieve desired results. It is neither justified nor convincing to use the drug issue to increase tariffs on Chinese products, as China has been the most effective in controlling drugs globally and has closely cooperated with the U.S. on this matter.”