I’ll admit at the outset to not being a fan of Donald Trump. His latest declaration to impose a further ten per cent tariff on imports from China could either derail global economy or a master stroke.
Trump justifies his move on a detail catching both the Wall Street and economists by surprise.
And it is based on the uncanny way history has of repeating.
The first Opium war between China and Britain started in 1839. It ended in 1842 with the Treaty of Nanking. But the Brits weren’t happy, they took the island of Hong Kong and part of the mainland Kowloon for good measure.
Part of the problem was China wanted to be paid in silver for trade in tea and silk. British Coins of that time were made from silver. Britain was losing its precious metal. To solve the imbalance of trade, English merchants traded opium sourced from Britain’s colonies in India.
Opium addiction spread throughout the Chinese population creating massive social problems. Despite a ban in 1796, the British smuggled some 1,000 tons of opium per year.
Over the past ten years, a crisis has engulfed the United States. Fentanyl has become the primary cause of opioid-related overdose death in North America. Song writer and outstanding musician Prince died from a fentanyl overdose.
Fentanyl and other synthetic opioids are trafficked into the US by Mexican cartels and Donald Trump wants it stopped.
Chinese companies are the major global supplier for methamphetamines, ketamine, tramadol, and xylazines. That market dominance results from the promotion and protection of illicit pharmaceutical industries by the Chinese Communist Party. The President-elect regards import taxes as a way of pushing China into ending production.
With street names such as China Girl, Murder 8, and Dance Fever, the problem is not only with the US. The EU’s retail heroin market is estimated to be worth €5.2 billion annually. The quantity of heroin seized by EU member states more than doubled in 2021 to 9.5 tonnes, the highest amount in 20 years.
Nick Hubble, editor, Strategic Intelligence Australia, wrote: “Nobody in the West is aware of the historical echoes. But the Chinese are. And Trump is either sticking his foot in it or coming up with a stroke of tactical genius by exposing this.”
It appears the tables have turned, at least in a historical sense. The West is on the verge of Opioid revenge.
Donald Trump’s gambit could see a change for the good.
ajhenryblog 
It is hard to see anything Trump does in altruistic terms. But I will in this case give him the benefit of the doubt. Follow up this issue in 12 months.
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I agree. There’s much speculation about Trump’s second term. My biggest fear, his government will wind back the transition to renewable energy. Of more concern is Gina Rinehart flying to Mar Largo to meet with Trump. What does this mean for Australia and will the billionaires influence election outcomes as Musk did in the US?
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I fear you could be right. Politicians are not strong enough to resist such power. Just when we were beginning to see progress to renewable industries.
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