{"id":38622,"date":"2025-01-27T13:55:00","date_gmt":"2025-01-27T13:55:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/?p=38622"},"modified":"2025-01-28T07:07:57","modified_gmt":"2025-01-28T07:07:57","slug":"why-trumps-tariffs-cant-solve-americas-fentanyl-crisis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/why-trumps-tariffs-cant-solve-americas-fentanyl-crisis\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Trump\u2019s tariffs can\u2019t solve America\u2019s fentanyl&nbsp;crisis"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/profiles\/rodney-coates-1431026\">Rodney Coates<\/a>, <em><a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/institutions\/miami-university-1934\">Miami University<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Americans consume more <a href=\"https:\/\/www.samhsa.gov\/data\/sites\/default\/files\/reports\/rpt47100\/NSDUHDetailedTabs2023\/NSDUHDetailedTabs2023\/2023-nsduh-detailed-tables-sect1pe.htm#tab1.1a\">illicit drugs<\/a> per capita than anyone else in the world; <a href=\"https:\/\/worldpopulationreview.com\/country-rankings\/drug-use-by-country\">about 6% of the U.S. population<\/a> uses them regularly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One such drug, fentanyl \u2013 a synthetic opioid that\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/nida.nih.gov\/publications\/drugfacts\/fentanyl\">50 to 100 times more potent than morphine<\/a> \u2013 is the leading reason <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/nchs\/pressroom\/nchs_press_releases\/2024\/20240515.htm\">U.S. overdose deaths have surged<\/a> in recent years. While the rate of fentanyl overdose deaths <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/nchs\/products\/databriefs\/db522.htm#section_4\">has dipped a bit recently<\/a>, it\u2019s still vastly higher than it was just five years ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-wp-embed is-provider-datawrapper wp-block-embed-datawrapper\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" title=\"Fentanyl death rates have soared over the past decade\" src=\"https:\/\/datawrapper.dwcdn.net\/PtDtD\/2\/#?secret=eIlKofEA6y\" data-secret=\"eIlKofEA6y\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"540\"><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Ending the fentanyl crisis won\u2019t be easy. The U.S. has an addiction problem that spans decades \u2013 long predating the rise of fentanyl \u2013 and countless attempts to <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/ijerph19042074\">regulate<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/00220426211050030\">legislate<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/heinonline.org\/HOL\/P?h=hein.journals\/nkenlr48&amp;i=279\">incarcerate<\/a> have done little to reduce drug consumption. Meanwhile, the opioid crisis alone costs Americans <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pewtrusts.org\/en\/research-and-analysis\/data-visualizations\/2021\/the-high-price-of-the-opioid-crisis-2021\">tens of billions of dollars<\/a> each year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With past policies having failed to curb fentanyl deaths, President Donald Trump now looks set to turn to another tool to fight America\u2019s drug problem: trade policy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>During his presidential campaign, Trump pledged to impose tariffs on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/articles\/czx5p41696po\">Canada<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/world-nation\/story\/2024-12-12\/tariffs-cast-shadow-on-u-s-mexico-relations-as-trump-return-looms\">Mexico<\/a> if they don\u2019t halt the flow of drugs across U.S. borders. Trump also promised to impose a new set of tariffs against China if it doesn\u2019t <a href=\"https:\/\/www.msn.com\/en-us\/money\/markets\/donald-trump-gets-bad-news-about-his-tariff-plan-from-americans-in-new-poll\/ar-AA1vXYjr?ocid=BingNewsSerp\">do more to crack down<\/a> on the production of chemicals used to make fentanyl. He reiterated his plan on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.businessinsider.com\/trump-trade-plans-new-tariffs-canada-mexico-china-prices-inflation-2025-1\">his first day back in office<\/a>, saying to reporters, \u201cWe\u2019re thinking in terms of 25% on Mexico and Canada because they\u2019re allowing \u2026 fentanyl to come in.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Speaking as <a href=\"https:\/\/miamioh.edu\/profiles\/cas\/rodney-coates.html\">a professor who studies social policy<\/a>, I think both fentanyl and the proposed import taxes represent significant threats to the U.S. While the human toll of fentanyl is undeniable, the real question is whether tariffs will work \u2013 or worsen what\u2019s already a crisis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2>Fentanyl: The \u2018single greatest challenge\u2019<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>In 2021, <a href=\"https:\/\/nida.nih.gov\/research-topics\/trends-statistics\/overdose-death-rates\">more than 107,000 Americans<\/a> died from overdoses \u2013 the most ever recorded \u2013 and nearly seven out of 10 deaths involved fentanyl or similar synthetic opioids. In 2022, fentanyl was killing an average of 200 people each day. And while <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/nchs\/pressroom\/nchs_press_releases\/2024\/20240515.htm\">fentanyl deaths declined slightly<\/a> in 2023, nearly 75,000 Americans still died from synthetic opioids that year. In March of that year \u2013 the most recent for which full-year data on overdose deaths is available \u2013 the then-secretary of homeland security declared fentanyl to be \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/national-security\/2023\/03\/29\/fentanyl-mayorkas-threat-dhs\/\">the single greatest challenge we face as a country<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But history shows that government efforts to curb drug use often have little success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The first real attempt to regulate drugs in the U.S. <a href=\"http:\/\/doi.org\/10.1155\/2012\/282981\">occurred in 1890<\/a>, when, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.smithsonianmag.com\/history\/inside-story-americas-19th-century-opiate-addiction-180967673\/\">amid rampant drug abuse<\/a>, Congress enacted a law taxing morphine and opium. In the years that followed, cocaine use skyrocketed, rising <a href=\"https:\/\/museum.dea.gov\/history-drug-use-america\">700% between 1890 and 1902<\/a>. Cocaine was so popular, it was even found in drinks <a href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/news\/factcheck\/2021\/07\/25\/fact-check-coke-once-contained-cocaine-but-likely-less-than-claimed\/8008325002\/\">such as Coca-Cola<\/a>, from which it got its name.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This was followed by a 1909 act banning the smoking of opium, and, in 1937, the \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/maint.loc.gov\/law\/help\/statutes-at-large\/75th-congress\/session-1\/c75s1ch553.pdf\">Marihuana Tax Act<\/a>.\u201d The most comprehensive package of laws was instituted with the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dea.gov\/drug-information\/csa\">Controlled Substances Act of 1970<\/a>, which classified drugs into five categories based on their medical uses and potential for abuse or dependence. A year later, then-President Richard Nixon launched the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.jstor.org\/stable\/43496834\">\u201cWar on Drugs\u201d<\/a> and declared drug abuse as \u201cpublic enemy No. 1.\u201d And in 1986, Congress passed the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.congress.gov\/bill\/99th-congress\/house-bill\/5484\">Anti-Drug Abuse Act<\/a>, directing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/archive\/politics\/1986\/10\/28\/reagan-signs-antidrug-bill\/2e37b1b3-872c-4ed4-b9ed-a385c3d0c144\/\">US$1.7 billion<\/a> for drug enforcement and control. https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/y8TGLLQlD9M?wmode=transparent&amp;start=0 President Richard Nixon declared drug abuse \u201cPublic enemy No. 1\u201d at this 1971 press conference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>These policies have <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.2307\/165986\">generally failed<\/a> to <a href=\"https:\/\/heinonline.org\/HOL\/Page?handle=hein.journals\/hjlpp42&amp;div=23&amp;g_sent=1&amp;casa_token=CRIU8X_YI00AAAAA:iqHhRPmuxCWIg88jwtjJKU6LvsaMt-NJx0ftty7-0n5JQygk1If8yBDditX9e3RcuNHTzCBeuFo&amp;collection=journals\">curb drug supply and use<\/a>, while also causing significant harm to people and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.brennancenter.org\/our-work\/analysis-opinion\/race-mass-incarceration-and-disastrous-war-drugs\">communities of color<\/a>. For example, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/Controlled-Substances-Act\">between 1980 and 1997<\/a>, the number of incarcerations for nonviolent drug offenses went from 50,000 to 400,000. But these policies hardly put a dent in consumption. The share of high school seniors using drugs dipped only slightly over the same period, from <a href=\"https:\/\/monitoringthefuture.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/mtf-highlights_1980.pdf\">65% in 1980<\/a> to <a href=\"https:\/\/monitoringthefuture.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/1997dv.pdf\">58% in 1997<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In short, past U.S. efforts to reduce illegal drug use haven\u2019t been especially effective. Now, it looks like the U.S. is shifting toward using tariffs \u2013 but research suggests that those will not lead to better outcomes either, and could actually cause considerable harm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2>Why tariffs won\u2019t work<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>America\u2019s experiments with tariffs can be <a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/tariffs-are-back-in-the-spotlight-but-skepticism-of-free-trade-has-deep-roots-in-american-history-241311\">traced back to the founding era<\/a> with the passage of the <a href=\"https:\/\/fraser.stlouisfed.org\/title\/tariff-1789-hamilton-tariff-5884\">Tariff Act of 1789<\/a>. This long history has shown that <a href=\"https:\/\/files.taxfoundation.org\/20180627113002\/Tax-Foundation-FF595-1.pdf\">tariffs<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/scholar.harvard.edu\/files\/dani-rodrik\/files\/rodrik_-_an_industrial_policy_for_good_jobs.pdf\">industrial subsidies<\/a> and protectionist policies don\u2019t <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bls.gov\/opub\/btn\/volume-9\/the-effects-of-tarifff-rates-on-the-u-s-economy-what-the-producer-price-index-tells-us.htm\">do much to stimulate broad economic growth at home<\/a> \u2013 but they raise prices for consumers and can even lead to <a href=\"https:\/\/news.law.fordham.edu\/jcfl\/2019\/03\/17\/a-brief-history-of-tariffs-in-the-united-states-and-the-dangers-of-their-use-today\/\">global economic instability<\/a>. History also shows that tariffs don\u2019t work especially well as negotiating tools, failing to <a href=\"https:\/\/asiatimes.com\/2024\/11\/note-to-trump-targeted-tariffs-can-work-broad-ones-never-do\/\">effect significant policy changes in target countries<\/a>. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.economist.com\/leaders\/2023\/07\/13\/subsidies-and-protection-for-manufacturing-will-harm-the-world-economy\">Economists generally agree<\/a> that the costs of tariffs outweigh the benefits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Over the course of Trump\u2019s first term, the average effective tariff rate on Chinese imports went <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/economy\/trade\/trump-tariff-rates-china-world-trade-charts-3d6aee09\">from 3% to 11%<\/a>. But while imports from China fell slightly, the overall trade relationship didn\u2019t change much: China remains the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/economy\/trade\/trump-tariff-rates-china-world-trade-charts-3d6aee09\">second-largest supplier<\/a> of goods to the U.S.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The tariffs did have some benefit \u2013 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/12\/17\/briefing\/vietnam-china-us-trade-war.html\">for Vietnam<\/a> and other nearby countries with relatively low labor costs. Essentially, the tariffs on China caused production to shift, with global companies investing billions of dollars in competitor nations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This isn\u2019t the first time Trump has used trade policy to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/business-49199559\">pressure China on fentanyl<\/a> \u2013 he did so in his first term. But while China made <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2019\/04\/01\/asia\/china-us-fentanyl-trump-intl\/index.html\">some policy changes<\/a> in response, such as adding fentanyl to its controlled substances list in 2019, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2020\/02\/02\/politics\/opioid-epidemic-donald-trump-drug-policy\/index.html\">fentanyl deaths in the U.S.<\/a> continued to rise. Currently, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dea.gov\/documents\/2023\/2023-10\/2023-10-03\/justice-department-announces-eight-indictments-against-china\">China<\/a> still ranks as the No. 1 producer of fentanyl precursors, or chemicals used to produce illicit fentanyl. And there are others in the business: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dea.gov\/sites\/default\/files\/2020-03\/DEA_GOV_DIR-008-20%20Fentanyl%20Flow%20in%20the%20United%20States_0.pdf\">India<\/a>, over that same period, has become a major producer of fentanyl.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2>A question of supply and demand<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Drugs have been pervasive throughout U.S. history. And when you investigate this history and look at how other nations are dealing with this problem rather than criminalization, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.northcarolinahealthnews.org\/lessons-from-abroad-how-europeans-have-tackled-opioid-addiction-and-what-the-u-s-could-learn-from-them\/\">Swiss and French<\/a> have approached it as an addiction problem that could be treated. They realized that demand is what fuels the illicit market. And as any economist will tell you, supply will find a way if you don\u2019t limit the demand. That\u2019s why <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wola.org\/analysis\/drug-policy-ending-the-failed-u-s-war-on-drugs\/\">treatment works and bans don\u2019t<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The U.S. government\u2019s ability to control the production of these drugs is limited at best. The problem is that new chemical products will continually be produced. Essentially, failure to restrict demand only places bandages on hemorrhaging wounds. What the U.S. needs is a more systematic approach to deal with the demand that\u2019s fueling the drug crisis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/profiles\/rodney-coates-1431026\">Rodney Coates<\/a>, Professor of Critical Race and Ethnic Studies, <em><a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/institutions\/miami-university-1934\">Miami University<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This article is republished from <a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\">The Conversation<\/a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/why-trumps-tariffs-cant-solve-americas-fentanyl-crisis-245978\">original article<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Rodney Coates, Miami University Americans consume more illicit drugs per capita than anyone else in the world; about 6% of the U.S. population uses them regularly. One such drug, fentanyl \u2013 a synthetic opioid that\u2019s 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine \u2013 is the leading reason U.S. overdose deaths have surged in recent [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":56,"featured_media":38623,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[5,8025,46,42,295,10,25,4],"tags":[2292,145,7388,479,5380,5753,1711,6114,11792,885,891,886,860,1336,1545,516,2775,1558,2543],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38622"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/56"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38622"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38622\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":38624,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38622\/revisions\/38624"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/38623"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38622"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38622"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38622"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}