According to a recent analysis article published by The Guardian and authored by Hannah Harris Green, Donald Trump’s recent policies could make the U.S. more vulnerable to the trafficking of synthetic drugs from abroad. Specifically, the new measures adopted by the U.S. president have been criticized by former U.S. government officials after it was announced that new tariffs would be imposed on Mexico, Canada, and China, with the aim of reducing the influx of illicit drugs into the U.S.

The former Drug Enforcement Administration deputy chief of staff Jim Crotty criticized new tariffs as “coercive.” “We’re seeing this decrease in overdose deaths and everyone’s still trying to suss out exactly why. I don’t think now is the time that we want to stop any of those existing efforts because we know that at least some, or a combination of them, have been working,” he said in an interview.

Following Trump’s demands, Mexico deployed 10,000 troops to its U.S. border, and Crotty pointed out that given the size of Mexico’s border and the small quantities in which drugs are trafficked, this military presence may not be effective. Instead, intelligence sharing will be needed to effectively intercept drug shipments.

Furthermore, Enrique Roig, a former Department of State official, said federal funding cuts could leave US borders more insecure. Specifically, reducing federal funding could lead to reduced drug detection technology at the border. As a result, this would impede detection, since many potent synthetic drugs trafficked into the US arrive in the form of powders or precursor chemicals and are difficult to detect by odour.

Roig noted that significant cuts to USAid threaten programs aimed at addressing the “root causes” of the drug trade, since they are not simply anti-drug programs—they also target related issues such as migration and drug and human trafficking, which are often linked through the same criminal networks. Moreover, Roig also shared that during his time at USAid, he worked on violence prevention programs, particularly those focused on keeping youth away from gangs and cartels. These programs are designed to provide alternatives to crime, tackling the issue before it reaches the border.

What’s more, Crotty also expressed concern over layoffs at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which could leave fewer staff to track opioid-related overdose deaths. Taken together with Trump’s attack on government data sharing, this could lead to a lack of accurate and public information regarding the opioid crisis. “​​CDC maintains the overdose death dashboard. A lot of that stuff is data driven. Are they still going to have access to the data?” he said.