From Smoot-Hawley to the Synthetic Opioid Crisis: The United States Postal Service as a Conduit for International Fentanyl Shipments [Note]

Abstract

Over the last decade, the United States postal system has become an unwitting conduit for the international trafficking of deadly synthetic fentanyl and its precursors. This form of fentanyl trafficking has been made possible by an illicit pipeline that runs through China, Mexico, and the United States postal system. This Note will explore how the synthetic fentanyl pipeline emerged from a confluence of U.S. trade policy loopholes, the rapid expansion of Chinese e-commerce, and troubled counternarcotics diplomacy with China and Mexico. This Note will then discuss how attempts by the U.S. government to interrupt the fentanyl pipeline have so far proven inadequate and, at times, capricious. Finally, this Note will advocate for comprehensive and transparent policy solutions to fortify the U.S. customs sector against international narcotics trafficking.