When US President Donald Trump announced sweeping tariffs against Canada, Mexico and China on Saturday, he cited that “the extraordinary threat posed by illegal aliens and drugs including deadly fentanyl” posed a national emergency that required tariffs be slapped until the crisis was abated.

China's government on Sunday denounced the Trump administration's imposition of a long-threatened 10% tariff on Chinese imports while leaving the door open for talks with the U.S. that could avoid a deepening conflict.

President Donald Trump has long been touting tariffs as a way to disrupt the flow of fentanyl into the U.S. and this week, he took action with a 10 percent tariff on goods imported from China. But will they really help in the fight to crack down on fentanyl?

President Donald Trump's new tariff orders against Canada, Mexico and China all contain clauses suspending a duty-free exemption for low-value shipments below $800 that is widely seen as a loophole that has allowed shipments of fentanyl and its precursor chemicals into the United States.

China unveiled multiple countermeasures on Tuesday, immediately after new U.S. tariffs on its imports took effect. This marks the latest development in an escalating trade dispute that began with President Donald Trump’s weekend announcement of broad tariffs targeting multiple trading partners.

The ministry added fentanyl was “a U.S. problem,” saying that at the request of the United States, China was the first country in the world to officially regulate all fentanyl-related substances in 2019.

The deal reached this week by President Donald Trump and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum to postpone implementing tariffs appeared to be largely focused on stopping the importation of the synthetic opioid fentanyl — a goal that is of particular interest in San Diego and Baja California.

The man likely to be named the United States' chief trade negotiator argued Thursday that President Donald Trump's tariff threat against Canada is about fentanyl trafficking as he faced questions about the levies from Republicans and Democrats.