Washington: US President Donald Trump increased on Monday the additional tariff he imposed last month on imports from China to 20 percent, citing the Chinese government's failure to act to stop the flow of illicit drug into the US. According to Kuwait News Agency, the president signed an executive order amending section 2 (a) of Executive Order 14195 by replacing "10 percent" with "20 percent." This move aims to pressure China to address the issue of synthetic opioids, including fentanyl, entering the United States. The US leader argued that the People's Republic of China has not taken adequate steps to alleviate the illicit drug crisis through cooperative enforcement actions. He emphasized that the crisis described in Executive Order 14195 has not subsided and remains a significant threat. President Trump highlighted that the Chinese government's inaction on curbing the flow of synthetic opioids poses an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United S tates. He noted that the threat primarily originates from outside the United States. To counter this threat, President Trump has utilized his authority to impose ad valorem tariffs on products from the PRC, aiming to incentivize China to take more substantial measures against the drug flow into the US.
