President-elect Donald Trump threatens to hit Canada, Mexico and China with tariffs. He says they don’t seem to be doing sufficient to cease undocumented migrants and fentanyl smugglers from crossing into the U.S.
A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
President-elect, Donald Trump is threatening a 25% tariff on items from Canada and Mexico. And an additional 10% tariff could also be placed on objects from China.
ROB SCHMITZ, HOST:
Based on Trump, these nations aren’t doing sufficient to cease undocumented migrants or fentanyl from crossing into the U.S. Whereas arrests of migrants have been on the rise on the northern border, there are a fraction of these on the southern border, the place apprehensions are at a four-year low.
MARTÍNEZ: NPR’s Brian Mann covers the fentanyl disaster, joins us now to try Trump’s promise. Now, Brian, it is a social media publish proper now, not coverage fairly but. However what does Donald Trump say he hopes to perform with this menace?
BRIAN MANN, BYLINE: Yeah, you are proper, A. It is not clear Trump’s going to observe by way of on this. He would not take workplace for a few months. Lots of negotiations are going to occur earlier than then. What Trump stated in social media posts Monday is that these nations aren’t doing sufficient to resolve what he describes as two of the largest issues hitting the U.S. – unlawful immigration and fentanyl, which remains to be killing tens of 1000’s of individuals yearly. Based on Trump, Canada, China and Mexico may collectively simply clear up these issues. He added that after imposed, these tariffs would stay in place till medicine, together with fentanyl, and unlawful aliens – these are his phrases – cease this invasion of our nation.
MARTÍNEZ: However may China and Mexico actually simply shut down fentanyl smuggling identical to that?
MANN: Yeah. Specialists I talked to say no. It is simply not doable. Jonathan Caulkins, a drug coverage knowledgeable at Carnegie Mellon College says fentanyl is simply very easy to make and smuggle.
JONATHAN CAULKINS: Sadly, it is fairly troublesome to regulate fentanyl as a result of it is really easy for the unlawful provide chains to supply and distribute it.
MANN: Vanda Felbab-Brown is a drug coverage knowledgeable on the Brookings Establishment, and she or he agrees – what Trump is demanding right here, it simply is not going to occur.
VANDA FELBAB-BROWN: That’s an unachievable purpose. No nation will accomplish that.
MANN: What consultants say is the best-case state of affairs is that Trump’s threats right here immediate negotiations that possibly result in higher cooperation on migrants and fentanyl with extra lifelike targets.
MARTÍNEZ: OK, I am positive they’re all going to be speaking sooner or later. So how are these nations responding up to now?
MANN: Properly, you realize, first, it is vital to say, most fentanyl does enter the U.S. from Mexico, sometimes passing by way of official border crossings. Mexico’s President, Claudia Sheinbaum responded by saying yesterday, fentanyl is primarily a U.S. drawback, one which requires a well being care and remedy response, she says, to cut back dependancy. That is been Mexico’s place for years. She additionally prompt U.S. tariffs linked to fentanyl may set off a full-blown commerce conflict.
One different concern I am listening to from drug coverage consultants is {that a} commerce battle may unravel what has been rising worldwide cooperation concentrating on drug traffickers. Once more, this is Vanda Felbab-Brown at Brookings.
FELBAB-BROWN: Numerous Chinese language officers have informed me the counternarcotics cooperation wouldn’t have the ability to survive an imposition of considerable tariffs.
MANN: So if this energy transfer by Trump would not work, we may see China and Mexico backing away from intelligence-sharing and different cooperation with U.S. legislation enforcement. That might imply much less strain on these gangs which can be smuggling fentanyl.
MARTÍNEZ: Yeah. Brian, you’ve got been reporting that the fentanyl disaster has been easing in latest months with loads fewer folks dying. So what does Donald Trump say about that?
MANN: Properly, Trump hasn’t really acknowledged that progress. Writing on social media, he stated, we’re nonetheless seeing medicine coming throughout the border, and I am quoting right here, “at ranges by no means seen earlier than.” The truth is, there’s been an enormous optimistic shift during the last 12 months. Deadly overdoses, together with fentanyl, are dropping quick – about 16,000 fewer deaths. Most consultants I discuss to who credit score higher well being care and remedy. And so they fear that Trump’s menace right here of a world drug and commerce conflict might be a distraction, pulling focus away from a public well being response that seems to be serving to.
MARTÍNEZ: That is NPR’s dependancy correspondent, Brian Mann. Brian, thanks.
MANN: Thanks, A.
Copyright © 2024 NPR. All rights reserved. Go to our web site phrases of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for additional data.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This textual content is probably not in its last kind and could also be up to date or revised sooner or later. Accuracy and availability could range. The authoritative file of NPR’s programming is the audio file.
