ExclusiveTrump Planning Tariffs on Canada, Mexico, China; US Toolkit for Tackling Fentanyl | China in Focus

Welcome to China In Focus. I'm Tiffany Meyer. Our top story, the opening shot of a renewed trade standoff. President-elect Trump is warning of new tariffs earmarked for China, Mexico and Canada. His message, stop the drugs and illegal immigrants from coming into America or face consequences. The Kansas state pension sells off 300 million dollars worth of China's securities, joining the list of U.S. states seeking to divest from Washington's adversary, China. China is sending fighter jets to shadow U.S. Navy planes passing through the Taiwan Strait. Ron Huai keeping the waterway open matters to the global economy. And Secretary of State Antony Blinken meeting allies in Italy at his final G7 summit addressing threats from China and Russia. We're standing together to deal with some of the challenges posed by China. President-elect Trump says some countries will see major tariff hikes in the new year. On January 20th to be exact. NTD's Leon Monaghan reports. In a statement on Truth Social, Trump said one of the first executive orders he will sign on his first official day in office will be to put a 25 percent tariff on all products coming in from Mexico and Canada. Trump says those tariffs will remain in place until the two border nations clamp down on illegal immigration and drugs, particularly fentanyl, coming into the U.S. The president-elect wrote on Truth Social, As everyone is aware, thousands of people are pouring through Mexico and Canada, bringing crime and drugs at levels never seen before. The president-elect is also targeting China. Trump wrote on Truth Social, I have had many talks with China about the massive amounts of drugs, in particular fentanyl, being sent into the United States, but to no avail. Until such time as they stop, we will be charging China an additional 10 percent tariff, above any additional tariffs, on all of their many products coming into the United States of America. A Chinese embassy spokesperson responded saying, No one will win a trade war or a tariff war. The statements were some of Trump's most specific comments on how he will implement his economic agenda to put America first. Billionaire investor Bill Ackman took to X to suggest Trump's announcement was a way to prod America's neighbors into action on drugs and illegal immigration even before he assumes office. More than 83 percent of exports from Mexico went to the U.S. in 2023, as well as 75 percent of Canadian exports. The tariffs also potentially spell trouble for overseas companies, like the many Asian auto and electronics manufacturers that use Mexico as a low-cost production gateway for the U.S. market. Trump said he wants to renegotiate the trade deal with Canada and Mexico, and will formally send a notification of that before taking office. The U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA, allows manufacturers based in any of those three countries to enjoy tariff rates as low as zero percent when exporting to one another. But it seems one non-member state may also be reaping the benefits. China. Beijing now faces accusations that it's flooding overseas markets with cheap imports by bypassing tariffs. The amount of Chinese funds invested in Mexico has jumped nearly three times over the past four years. Last year, China became Mexico's second-largest source of imports, behind only the U.S., and the majority of Mexico's exports went to the U.S. Worth noting, Mexico's president, Claudia Sheinbaum, said last week she would prove that Chinese products didn't enter the U.S. through her country. China responded to the Mexican president's comment, adding China's exports to Mexico boosted the country's economy. In response to Trump's tariff call, Mexico suggested it may retaliate with tariffs of its own. Sheinbaum has said she's open to talks on these issues, but noted drugs are a U.S. problem. Shortly after Trump's statement on tariffs, the Chinese yuan slumped to a four-month low against the U.S. dollar. Trump has pledged to end China's most-favored-nation status, which gives the country access to favorable trade rates. He's also promised to slap tariffs exceeding 60 percent on Chinese imports, much higher than during his first term. Outside China, the Canadian dollar slumped to its worst level in over four years. The Mexican peso also dipped. Across the pond, European equities fell on Tuesday, led by steep declines in automaker stocks. Germany's economy minister urged Europe to take Trump's tariffs announcement seriously and seek dialogue to avoid potential trade tensions. Trump has accused China of not taking strong enough action to stop the flow of illicit drugs from its borders, which flow into Mexico, and from there, the U.S. If Trump were to stem the flow of fentanyl from China, what are the options in his toolkit other than tariffs? Steve Yates is a former deputy national security advisor at the White House. He has advised Trump's orbit on fentanyl policy. He said one of the quickest ways to get results would be to sanction specific Chinese banks, ones that do business with entities that launder money and sell drug precursor chemicals. Fentanyl killed over 74,000 Americans last year, including Yates' daughter. Washington's sanctions are powerful. Using them could sever foreign banks' access to the U.S. dollar and make it difficult for them to do business around the globe. Their U.S.-based assets could also be frozen. David Asher, a former top anti-money laundering official, notes Washington has slapped similar sanctions on Iran and Russia, but not on Chinese banks involved in drug trafficking. The Biden administration has been communicating with Beijing and pressing the Chinese regime to crack down on the flow of fentanyl from China. On Capitol Hill, lawmakers from both parties have called for action to punish the Chinese regime over fentanyl. Trump pledged to designate Mexico-based cartels as terrorist groups while on the campaign trail to help tackle fentanyl. What's more, a Reuters investigation found buying chemicals used to make fentanyl from China was both easy and inexpensive. It took investigators just over $3,000 to buy materials needed to make $3 million worth of fentanyl tablets. The precursor chemicals from China slipped through U.S. Customs duty-free. The state of Kansas recently sold off nearly $300 million worth of Chinese securities from its pension investment plan. The move is seen as part of efforts from the state's government to decouple from an adversarial state, China. NTD's Flora Hua has details on the shift. Flora, please tell us more. Yes, Tiff, that's right. The Kansas State Pension Board recently sold 12 securities listed in China and Hong Kong, totaling $294 million. That's according to Chief Investment Officer Bruce Fink. Kansas is seeking to divest from all state funds based in China, Russia, Cuba, Iran, North Korea and Venezuela. And its board won't consider investing in, quote, any countries of concern in the future. A state law ordering that divestment took effect in July. The decision comes as geopolitical tensions between the U.S. and these countries keep growing, especially China. Several more U.S. states have passed legislation to sell off their Chinese assets, including Florida, Missouri and Indiana. Recently, Texas Governor Greg Abbott also signed an executive order asking every state agency to evaluate all investments in China. Flora, thank you for that. Beijing is sending military aircraft and ships to monitor a U.S. Navy plane as it travels through the sensitive Taiwan Strait Tuesday. That's as the two nations continue to spar over self-ruled Taiwan. Here's more. The U.S. Navy's 7th Fleet said the aircraft flew through the strait's international space in accordance with international law. It said the transit upheld navigational rights for all nations and demonstrates the U.S.'s commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific. More than one-fifth of global maritime trade passes through the Taiwan Strait. That's more than $2 trillion worth of goods. The Chinese Communist Party sees Taiwan as part of China and has vowed to take it under control by force if necessary. The U.S. is Taiwan's most important supporter and arms provider and American military ships and aircraft regularly transit the waterway. China sends military ships or planes near Taiwan almost daily. Yesterday, Taiwan's defense ministry reported a Chinese balloon over the sea north of the island. Countering threats posed by China and Russia. Secretary of State Antony Blinken continues meeting G7 counterparts in Italy addressing global issues. He also met Ukraine's foreign minister Tuesday saying Washington and Kyiv will keep resisting challenges posed by adversaries. Our countries are standing together along with other partners to deal with the ongoing Russian aggression against Ukraine. We're standing together to deal with some of the challenges posed by China in these areas and so many more. Italy, the United States, our G7 partners are the strongest of collaborators. Ukraine's foreign minister joined talks with his G7 counterparts. During the meeting, Italy's foreign minister emphasized the need to protect Ukraine's energy infrastructure. This includes its nuclear plants which have been put at risk during the war. Both Ukraine and Russia regularly allege the other side strikes targets just miles from nuclear plants. The Italian minister also underscored the importance of ensuring freedom of navigation in the Black Sea. Ukraine is a major grain exporter, much of which travels through the Black Sea. Coming up, Hong Kong's government dismissing a round of series of accusations from Washington. The city is known as a financial hub, but a group of bipartisan China hawks label it a hub for financial crime. Sweden is asking a Chinese ship to return to Swedish waters. That's to help an investigation into the recent and mysterious breaches of two undersea cables. From the Swedish side, we have had contact with the ship in contact with China and said that we want the ship to move towards Swedish waters. The European Union is accusing China of unfair tariffs on its brandy and is taking the case to the World Trade Organization. More on that after the break. Here on China In Focus. Welcome back to China In Focus. I'm Tiffany Meyer. Hong Kong on Tuesday blasted U.S. lawmakers over a letter they sent to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen. In it, the lawmakers urged the U.S. Treasury to re-evaluate Washington's financial ties with the city, accusing Hong Kong of becoming a hub of U.S. sanctions evasion, money laundering and bypassing U.S. trade restrictions. Hong Kong described the statement as malicious slander. It also threatened that U.S. policy shifts towards the city could harm American companies if their businesses operate in Hong Kong. Congress members from the House-elect China Committee sent the letter over the weekend. This month, the FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency said the communist regime is engaged in a broad and significant cyber espionage campaign against the U.S. Last week, White House officials met with telecommunications executives to discuss this threat and how the government and the private sector can better work together to defeat it. NTD's Stefania Cox sat down with Rebecca Grant, Lexington Institute vice president and national security analyst, to discuss. Rebecca, the CCP has been at this for a long time. Hackers in a large-scale cyber attack that was part of the Salt Typhoon campaign reportedly had access to AT&T, Verizon and other networks for months or longer. How significant is that? This could not be more significant. Senator Mark Warner has called it possibly the worst attack that we've seen. Other experts have pointed out that this just really goes beyond what we've seen from China before. Part of what's so scary is that it looks like the Salt Typhoon gang, which has been active since about 2020 at least, was able to target individuals and possibly get into systems that the U.S. government uses to do court-ordered foreign intelligence surveillance. So this is a very specific, a very targeted attack, very brazen, very confident. And it's aimed directly at top U.S. leaders and about 150 individuals who've been notified here in the Washington, D.C. area. Scary stuff. Certainly. And on that point, last month, Vice President-elect J.D. Vance confirmed that his phone had been breached by Chinese hackers. And he said that he believed that President-elect Donald Trump's phone had also been hacked. What can they do with all of that information? You know, it's just incredible. I'm sure J.D. Vance and President-elect Trump have a lot of different phones. But it's really clear that China with this attack was trying to hit at the next administration, right? This is a message saying, look, we have incredible cyber capabilities. You know, the Salt Typhoon is kind of the cousins to the Volt Typhoon group who hack into critical infrastructure. And so with this information, you know, it's not so much about, you know, what President Trump might have texted to J.D. Vance and whoever's involved. It's really China's hackers saying, we can reach out and touch you. And wow, if we can do this, just think what else we could do. You know, there's worries, of course, about how they would hack into other critical information systems. But it's really designed to make our U.S. political leadership and significant individuals step back and say, whoa, I'm really impressed with China's hacking power. You know, maybe I ought to back off on Taiwan. You know, it's close to an act of warfare in that way. And on the point of the CCP's agenda more broadly, we've seen the regime operating undercover police stations across the U.S. and in other countries targeting dissidents. And newly released, recently released, leaked credible reports indicate that the Chinese regime has made a strategic decision to escalate its persecution against Falun Gong worldwide, for example. So how do cyber operations play into that kind of overseas suppression? Well, while we don't like seeing what China is doing with its, you know, consular activities in the U.S., the difference with salt typhoon is this goes directly to Americans and to American leadership. And it's designed to lessen our will to oppose whatever China is doing, whether that's going to be tariffs, whether that's harassing the Philippines out in the South China Sea. You know, America and our friends are the ones who stand up to China. The salt typhoon attacks are meant to cut away at our resolve and to strengthen Xi Jinping's position around the world. So, you know, we can't let that happen. We've got to clean up our infrastructure. We've got to clean up this terrible ghost spider backdoor that they used to get into it so that China can't continue to use these cyber weapons against our political will. Rebecca Grant, thank you so much for your time and for joining us today. Thank you. As companies and countries prepare for a second Trump term, top executives just met with a senior Beijing official. Reports indicate that Apple CEO Tim Cook joined about two dozen executives to chat with China's Premier Li Qiang. This is the first high-level meeting of its kind since Trump won re-election. Supply chain and trade issues were at the top of the meeting agenda, as both sides braced for possible tariff hikes on Chinese goods. For companies like Apple, trade disruptions are a major concern. The majority of its iPhones are made in China. And China is its second biggest market. Sweden is asking a Chinese vessel to return to Swedish waters. To help facilitate an investigation into recent breaches of undersea fiber optic cables. Here's the Swedish Prime Minister. From the Swedish side, we have had contact with the ship in contact with China and said that we want the ship to move towards Swedish waters. Two undersea cables, one linking Finland and Germany, and the other connecting Sweden to Lithuania, were damaged in less than 24 hours last Sunday. Now these countries say there are suspicions of sabotage. The Chinese ship was in the areas where the cable damage occurred. According to traffic data, Sweden said it's not making any accusations, but seeking clarity on what happened. European cognac at the heart of an international trade dispute. The European Union has moved forward with a complaint to the World Trade Organization. It alleges China improperly imposed tariffs on the Blancs brandy. Here's more. Beijing announced in October it would impose temporary custom duties on brandies shipped from the EU. France described the move as pure retaliation against the Blancs' tariff hike on Chinese electric vehicles. China's commerce ministry accused the EU of dumping beverages in the Chinese market. It alleges that has caused damage to its domestic market. The ministry requires importers to pay what they called a deposit to Chinese customs when shipping brandies from the European Union. It ranges from around 30 to nearly 40 percent. These measures went into effect on October 11. Falun Gong practitioners in Canada are peacefully protesting in Canada to raise awareness about human rights issues in China. Canadian parliament members have petitioned the government to pressure Beijing to end the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners. Watch. The second petition I'd like to present today, Mr. Speaker, is on behalf of Falun Gong practitioners in Canada. They're calling for the government of Canada to pass a resolution to establish measures to stop the Chinese communist regime of systematically imprisoning practitioners. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Falun Gong is a traditional Chinese spiritual discipline whose moral teachings are truthfulness, compassion and forbearance. The Chinese government perceives religion as a threat to its state atheism, especially Falun Gong. In recent weeks, dozens of members of the Canadian parliament have been submitting and reading petitions for many Falun Gong practitioners in parliament, calling on the government to pass a resolution to stop the Chinese communist party's systematic persecution of Falun Gong and forced organ harvesting. Canadian citizens or people with close ties to Canada who face persecution in the PRC because they are Falun Gong practitioners need to be highlighted. And I join colleagues in highlighting these specific cases, as well as calling for an end to the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in general. Members of the Parliament of Canada have been actively concerned about the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China. They have called for an end to the persecution and the release of detained practitioners by submitting petitions, making public statements and participating in rallies and marches. Mr. Speaker, the other members have said different comments on this right here, but I've talked to practitioners who have been in prison. It's a very serious situation. This is an important petition. Thank you. The persecution began in 1999 and continues to this day. Some Falun Gong practitioners share their stories. My sister was in prison for eight years because she insisted on practicing Falun Gong. We are very worried that it is because of their persecution that they have been tortured so painstakingly that they do not dare to let the evidence of such persecution come to light. So they do not allow their family members to see them. My mother is 80 years old. When she was 78, she was sentenced to four years. And now she has been in Jinan Women's Prison for one year and eight months. In December 2022, the Canadian Parliament unanimously passed the Anti-Live Harvesting Act S.223, which prohibits Canadian citizens from participating in the illegal organ trade. The undersigned request the Canadian Parliament and government to A. Pass a resolution to establish measures to stop the Chinese Communist regime's crime of systematically murdering Falun Gong practitioners for their organs. To publicly call for an end to the persecution of Falun Gong members. Thank you. NTD News, Canada. That's all for today's China In Focus. I'm Tiffany Meyer. If you have any feedback on the show or have something you'd like to see us cover, send us an email at chinainfocusntd.com. We'd love to hear from you. For around the clock original news coverage, visit us at ntd.com or download our NTD app. Thanks for watching. See you tomorrow.