President-elect Donald Trump has said the special tariffs he is threatening to impose on imports from China, Canada and Mexico are aimed at stemming the flow of illegal drugs into the United States. The federal government has been trying and failing for more than a century, and there’s no reason to think this arcane tactic will be any more successful.
President Trump complained that Canada and Mexico are not doing enough to stop drugs crossing the border. “Drugs are coming in at levels we’ve never seen before, and the amount is 10 times higher,” he said. said Kristen Welker meet the press Last Sunday, we explained the basis for the punitive tariffs. “They’re just pushing in. We can’t open the borders.”
Last month, President Trump said He will encourage Canada and Mexico to police their borders by imposing a 25% tariff on “all products imported into the United States.” He said the tariffs he plans to impose on his first day in office “will remain in effect until we stop drugs, especially fentanyl, and all illegal aliens from invading our country!”
If stopping the flow of illegal drugs is as easy as President Trump is implying, one might wonder why he didn’t do it during his first term. “I’m going to build borders,” he promised during the 2016 campaign. “Drugs aren’t coming in. We’re going to build a wall. You know what I’m saying. You trust me. Believe me. I’ll fix the problem.”
In fact, President Trump did not solve the problem. According to data The annual number of drug-related deaths in the United States increased by 44 percent from 2016 to the final year of the Trump administration, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
As drug warriors have discovered since Congress banned the non-medical use of opiates and cocaine in 1914, prohibition is a powerful tool that circumvents any hurdles governments place between suppliers and consumers. Create economic incentives. This problem is even worse with fentanyl. Fentanyl is cheap to produce and extremely potent, making it possible to smuggle large doses in small packages.
“At this time” Congressional Research Service (CRS) noticed Last March, it announced that “much of the illicit fentanyl bound for the United States appears to be secretly manufactured in Mexico using chemical precursors from China.” The report notes that while “some fentanyl precursors are subject to international regulation,” “others may be legally manufactured and exported from certain countries, including China.” Mexican customs authorities reportedly have difficulty detecting illegal diversions of these chemicals.”
CRS reports that Mexican drug cartels “are transporting illicit fentanyl into the United States primarily across the southwest border, often in passenger vehicles.” “US
The Department of Homeland Security said 90% [seized] Fentanyl is prohibited at ports of entry, often in vehicles driven by U.S. citizens. Key challenges for both parties
Mexican and U.S. officials charged with interfering with fentanyl distribution [the cartels] A relatively small amount can meet US demand. ”
If you find a small amount of them, hundreds of thousands The thousands of cars and trucks entering the United States from Canada and Mexico every day is a daunting task. Even a serious attempt to do so would place an intolerable burden on international travel and trade. And while vehicle transport across the southern border now appears to be the main route for fentanyl, it’s not the only option. Fentanyl also enters the United States through the mail, but it is impossible to intercept all of these shipments, especially given their small size and sheer volume.
Even if the US “succeeded in preventing a direct attack 100 percent” [fentanyl] Sales to USA, enterprising dealer [would] They just sell to countries like the UK, repackage the product and resell it to the US,” says economist Roger Bate. noticed In a 2018 American Enterprise Institute report. “It would be impossible to intercept all shipments from the UK and other EU countries to the US,” Bate added. “Regardless of whether drugs are available to the general public by mail, drug dealers are “We deliver our products to the United States by land, sea, and other courier services.”
In March 2021, two months after President Trump left office, the Drug Enforcement Administration reported “The availability and use of cheap, highly potent fentanyl is increasing,” and methamphetamine’s “purity and potency remain high, but prices remain low,” and “cocaine availability across the United States is increasing.” “It’s stable,” he said.
That came after President Trump had four years to fulfill his promise during his administration to keep the country free from drugs. But he now argues that Mexican and Canadian officials could accomplish what he clearly failed to do if they tried harder.
President Trump also blames China’s lack of diligence. “I have had many conversations with China about the large amount of drugs, especially fentanyl, that are being shipped into the United States,” he said. said On the same day, the prime minister announced a 25% tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico. “But to no avail. Chinese representatives told me that if drug traffickers were caught in this act they would impose the maximum penalty of death, but unfortunately they never complied and Until this is stopped, we will impose an additional 10% tariff on all Chinese products imported into the United States, above and beyond any additional tariffs. ”
President Trump is intent on killing drug traffickers, but he has struggled to reconcile his continued frustration with America’s harsh drug penalties. As Trump himself has applauded, the Chinese government already considers fentanyl-related crimes to be punishable by death. President Trump: “Unlike in our country, China has an extremely high level of crime at the highest level.” said “You’re going to pay the ultimate price. So I’m very grateful.”
Contrary to what President Trump has hinted, U.S. law allows for the execution of drug traffickers under certain circumstances. Drug offenders subject to death penalty include The leader of a criminal enterprise that sells 60,000 kilograms of marijuana, 60 kilograms of heroin, 17 kilograms of crack cocaine, or 600 grams of LSD.
This provision has been on the books since 1994, but has never been implemented. That would probably never happen because it would be unconstitutional. 2008 decision In it, the Supreme Court stated that the Eighth Amendment to the Constitution requires that the death penalty be reserved for “crimes that take the life of the victim.” while deadly violence is committed.”to assist in extortion activities;” or “During and in connection with any…drug trafficking crime.” fits that description, but nonviolent drug distribution does not seem to.
In contrast, China regularly execute someone for non-violent drug crime (and long list for other crimes). President Trump seems to think that if he did this more often, he would “stop” the flow of fentanyl into the United States. This assumption is difficult to trust given the economics of prohibition, and prohibition clearly poses a “risk” large enough to compensate for the likelihood that a particular trafficker will be caught and punished. create a premium.
Even if severe legal penalties were enough to deter all Chinese suppliers of fentanyl precursors, that would not be the end of the story. as new york times recently noticedMexican cartels already have a backup plan. They are recruiting “chemistry students at Mexican universities to synthesize compounds known as precursors essential to the production of fentanyl” without having to import those raw materials from Mexico. China. “
