US President Donald Trump has doubled customs duties on China due to failures in the fight against the entry and addictive nature of fentanyl into the country.

President Trump, following his accession to office, made changes to the decree imposing a 10% tariff on imports from China due to fentanyl entering the US. Trump stated that China’s failure to take action to prevent the flow of fentanyl and synthetic opioids to the US poses a threat to the country’s national security, foreign policy, and economy, claiming that China has not taken sufficient steps to mitigate this crisis. As a result, he increased the tariff rate applied to imports from China to 20%. Trump had signed a decree on February 1st imposing a 10% customs duty on imports from China, which came into effect on February 4th. Warning that tariffs could increase if no agreement is reached with China, Trump announced through his Truth Social account on February 27th that an additional 10% tariff would be applied to China on March 4th.

WHAT IS FENTANYL?

Fentanyl, a type of opioid, is known as a chemical substance that acts in the body like morphine and is generally used as an analgesic, which can be addictive. Fentanyl can be prescribed by a doctor in cases of severe pain. However, it can also be illegally produced and sold. According to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), illegal drugs produced using chemicals brought from China are smuggled into the US from Mexico.