A guide to China’s role in the fentanyl crisis as Trump targets Beijing

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. BEIJING—President Trump wants to slap an additional 10% tariff on imports from China over its role in the fentanyl trade, arguing that Beijing could help fix America’s drug crisis if only it stopped dragging its feet. If cutting off the production and export of chemicals used to make fentanyl could get Beijing in Trump’s good books and prevent a new trade war, then why wouldn’t China do it? The answer cuts to the heart of why the war against fentanyl has been so intractable, owing to a lack of trust between the U.S.

and China and the whack-a-mole nature of stamping out the chemicals used to make the drug. Whether Trump’s pressure tactics with China work over the coming weeks and months will help determine whether he can make progress on resolving a drug-overdose crisis that leaves tens of thousands of Americans dead every year. President Trump plans to impose an additional 10% tariff on imports from China.

China denies it is at fault for the crisis, instead attributing the problem to the U.S.’s failure to curb domestic addiction. But U.S. officials and many experts say that China bears significant responsibility.

For years, Chinese firms sold the black-market fentanyl that reached U.S. drug users. More recently, their role has been as the main suppliers of the ingredients used to make fentanyl.

U.S. frustration with China on the issue runs deep. Secretary of State Marco Rubio questioned in recent days whether Beijing was intentionally working to flood the U.S.

with drugs. “You have to wonder in some cases, is this a deliberate thing, like are they flooding us with fentanyl?" Rubio said in an interview on Fox News. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian responded on Friday that