U.S. abuse of tariffs: Shifting its domestic problems overseas in attempt to find cure

Cartoon by Tan Xiguang

Recently, the U.S. has continuously introduced various tariff policies and repeatedly wielded the big stick of tariffs. The U.S. has also used the fentanyl issue as a pretext to shift blame to China and substantially impose additional tariffs on Chinese exports.

This is nothing but blatant smears and groundless accusations. China is one of the world's toughest countries on illegal drug use both in terms of policy and its implementation. China announced back in 2019 the decision to officially schedule fentanyl-related substances as a class.

However, the U.S. has turned a blind eye to its increasingly severe domestic fentanyl crisis. With less than five percent of the world's population, the U.S. consumes 80 percent of opioids in the world. Data from the U.S. Center for Disease Prevention and Control shows that synthetic opioids, mainly fentanyl, were involved in nearly 70 percent of overdose deaths - 75,000 people - in the country in 2023.

Fentanyl is the U.S.'s problem, not China's. Using this as a pretext to substantially increase tariffs on Chinese exports to the U.S. is a typical act of bullying. This approach of shifting its domestic problems overseas in an attempt to find a cure cannot hide the failures of U.S. governance, nor will it help solve the underlying issues.