President Trump says fentanyl smuggled into the U.S. is a key purpose for imposing tariffs on Canada, China and Mexico. However NPR discovered that Trump and his crew made false statements in regards to the fentanyl disaster. Canada, particularly, performs no significant function in America’s fentanyl-overdose epidemic.
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Rebecca Noble/Getty Photos
President Trump says unlawful road fentanyl is without doubt one of the essential justifications for sweeping commerce tariffs he plans to impose in opposition to Canada, China and Mexico on Tuesday. A assertion issued by the White Home describes the artificial opioid as fueling a “nationwide emergency” that warranted powerful motion.
Specialists say the fact is much extra complicated.
President Trump and his crew misstate key info in regards to the fentanyl disaster
On Inauguration Day, Trump mentioned international drug cartels are “killing 250,000 [or] 300,000 American individuals per yr.” On Friday, White Home spokesperson Karoline Leavitt mentioned tariffs are warranted as a result of fentanyl has “killed tens of hundreds of thousands of People.”
These claims are false.
Whereas the overdose epidemic is a severe disaster, specialists in regulation enforcement, drug coverage analysis and public well being agree road medicine have killed vastly fewer individuals.
Fentanyl turned a pivotal concern throughout the 2024 presidential marketing campaign, regardless of proof the disaster was quickly bettering. Pictured is an anti-drug register Leavenworth, Kan.
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UCG/Common Photos Group Editorial
Throughout essentially the most extreme interval of the opioid disaster, in 2022 and 2023, whole overdose deaths — together with fentanyl, methamphetamines, heroin, cocaine and all different medicine — peaked at round 114,000 fatalities per yr. And whereas drug overdose deaths have been wrenching for a lot of households, fentanyl deaths have not come near killing tens of hundreds of thousands of individuals.
State and federal knowledge additionally exhibits the disaster was bettering at an unprecedented tempo earlier than these tariffs have been introduced. Deadly overdoses from fentanyl and all different road medicine have plummeted nationally by greater than 21% since June 2023, based on the newest knowledge from the Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention, falling beneath 90,000 deaths in a 12-month interval for the primary time in roughly half a decade.
What function does Canada play within the U.S. fentanyl provide?
Nearly none. In its truth sheet, the Trump administration says Canada has a “rising footprint” in narcotics distribution with Mexican cartels energetic within the nation. However regulation enforcement and drug coverage specialists agree that Canada performs a minimal function in fentanyl smuggling into the U.S.
President Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau met quite a few occasions throughout Trump’s first time period. In his second time period, Trump has made fentanyl a flashpoint within the relationship, regardless of proof that fewer than 50 kilos of fentanyl was smuggled into the U.S. from Canada in 2024. That compares with greater than 21,000 kilos smuggled into the U.S. from Mexico.
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Dan Kitwood/Getty Photos
Throughout remarks Saturday evening, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau mentioned smuggling from Canada contributes lower than 1% of the fentanyl road provide within the U.S. Information from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration helps Trudeau’s declare.
In 2024, solely about 43 kilos of fentanyl was seized at America’s northern border. That compares with roughly 21,100 kilos seized on the southern border.
Earlier than these tariffs have been introduced, Canadian regulation enforcement had already moved to goal and crack down on fentanyl producers, hoping to curb the overdose disaster occurring in their very own nation.
What function does Mexico play within the U.S. fentanyl provide?
The White Home truth sheet says “the Mexican drug trafficking organizations have an insupportable alliance with the federal government of Mexico.”
It is extensively accepted that drug cartels in Mexico produce the overwhelming majority of road fentanyl flowing into the U.S. The earlier Mexican president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, adopted a controversial “hugs not bullets” method to drug gangs. Most cartel specialists say they’ve managed to deprave many authorities officers.
Claudia Sheinbaum, president of Mexico, just lately launched an anti-fentanyl marketing campaign aimed toward discouraging her nation’s residents from utilizing the drug. Specialists say earlier than President Trump introduced tariffs in opposition to Mexico, Sheinbaum was already taking more durable motion in opposition to drug cartels.
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However below present Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, enforcement actions in opposition to drug gangs have escalated, as has cooperation with U.S. regulation enforcement officers concentrating on the cartels and their funds. In line with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, the quantity of fentanyl seized by the U.S. on the southern border plunged final yr by roughly 20% and the efficiency of fentanyl drugs additionally declined sharply.
What function does China play within the U.S. fentanyl provide?
Legislation enforcement businesses and authorities officers within the U.S. agree a lot of the so-called precursor chemical compounds used to make road fentanyl circulation from industrial firms in China to drug gangs in Mexico. For years, China’s authorities infuriated U.S. officers by resisting efforts to focus on and disrupt this provide chain.
Underneath strain from the Biden administration, nevertheless, Chinese language officers carried out new rules final yr, helped crack down on cash laundering by drug organizations and made some arrests.
By October 2024, a rising variety of U.S. officers and specialists on fentanyl smuggling informed NPR these measures have been lastly squeezing the pipeline of fentanyl reaching American streets, making the drug tougher to seek out.
In a press release, China’s international ministry mentioned U.S. tariffs scheduled to enter impact on Tuesday will undermine cooperation in opposition to drug trafficking.