Trump tariffs and the making of a trade war

Before targeting the US's two neighbours and rival China, Donald Trump should bear in mind that there will be no winners in this war

- Biswajit Dhar

Merely weeks before his inauguration as the United States (US) President for a second term, Donald Trump announced that he would implement his campaign promise of raising tariffs immediately after assuming charge. In two posts on his social media platform Truth Social, Trump stated that he would "sign all necessary documents to charge Mexico and Canada a 25% Tariff on ALL products coming into the United States, and its ridiculous Open Borders". He added, "This Tariff will remain in effect until such time as Drugs, in particular Fentanyl, and all Illegal Aliens stop this Invasion of our Country!" Trump also accused Beijing of not taking strong enough action to stop the flow of illicit drugs into the US, stating that the US "will be charging China an additional 10% Tariff, above any additional Tariffs, on all of their many products" imported by the US.

Through these announcements, the president-elect targeted two sets of problems affecting the US he has consistently highlighted - the flow of illegal migrants and the opioid crisis. The former issue was among the central planks of Trump's election campaign, while the latter was also given considerable space. Over the past several years, the opioid crisis emerged as a major problem for the US due to a steep rise in the number of deaths from drug overdose, according to the US Drug Enforcement Administration. Synthetic opioids, including fentanyl illegally produced in China, contributed to the spurt in opioid deaths over the past decade.