The president-elect’s pledge to use tariffs to stem the flow of opioids from China could backfire if Beijing responds by ending counternarcotics cooperation.

President Joe Biden‘s fentanyl diplomacy with China is under scrutiny as President-elect Donald Trump’s team seeks a harder line to stop the flow of Chinese-made chemicals powering America’s epidemic.

In a post on Truth Social, President-elect Donald Trump mentioned “an additional 10% tariff” on imports from China in response to the Asian country’s failure to curb the flow of fentanyl into the US

The president-elect, who in 2019 made similar threats that he did not fulfill, says it will be his first executive decision on January 20, after taking office. On January 20, Donald Trump will be sworn in as the 47th president of the United States.

Trump’s past disputes with Beijing have centered mostly on China’s huge trade surplus, not synthetic opioids. Trump expressed admiration, even love, for Chinese President Xi Jinping throughout much of his first term, even as U.S. overdose fatalities soared.

China's state media warned U.S. President-elect Donald Trump his pledge to slap additional tariffs on Chinese goods over fentanyl flows could drag the world's top two economies into a mutually destructive tariff war.

China's state media shrugged off U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's pledge to slap additional tariffs on Chinese goods in editorials late on Tuesday, accusing the former president of blaming China for the country's failure to address the fentanyl crisis.