This op-ed first appeared in the Lake Charles American Press on May 7, 2025.
China’s largest export to Louisiana has been misery.
The Chinese Communist Party has allowed poisonous fentanyl to pour into the United States and encouraged Chinese businesses to lie, cheat and steal in American marketplaces. When COVID-19 escaped its laboratory, China spent more time covering up the details than it did containing the virus.
As China broke every rule of fair play and decency, President Biden largely left Louisianians to fend for themselves. Now that Republicans have taken the reins back in Washington, help is on the way for Louisiana.
President Trump started by issuing a 10% tariff on China for its role in fueling the fentanyl crisis in America. Chinese manufacturers produce many of fentanyl’s precursor ingredients. They then ship those chemicals to cartels in Mexico to manufacture the drugs that they smuggle into our communities.
An estimated 1,711 Louisianians died of drug overdoses in 2024—the majority of which included fentanyl. Yet China has done little to slow—much less end—this lethal supply chain.
President Trump has already effectively used tariffs to get Canada and Mexico to step up their fentanyl enforcement. When China didn’t respond, he doubled the fentanyl tariff to 20% and pledged to keep turning the screws until China complies.
In addition to the fentanyl tariffs, the Trump administration has also issued other trade-related reciprocal tariffs that will protect Louisiana industries from unfair Chinese competition.
Louisiana crawfish farmers, for example, have struggled to compete with Chinese producers that ignore the environmental and safety regulations that American producers must follow. Under President Biden, regulators only inspected 1% of all seafood imports. In turn, China could sell its crawfish—which are often loaded with unsafe levels of antibiotics—at a much cheaper price than the higher-quality American product.
These Chinese crawfish farmers, however, have run out of road. The new tariffs against China will help Louisiana’s crawfish farmers compete on a level playing field and offer their safer, healthier crawfish at a competitive price.
The Trump administration is also taking steps to help American shipbuilders. Today, China builds 74% of the world’s ships while the U.S. builds less than 1%. President Trump has established the Office of Maritime and Industrial Capacity at the White House to ensure the world buys ships built in Louisiana instead of Beijing.
In Congress, I have introduced and sponsored several bills to protect Louisianians from China’s harmful influence.
The No Dollars for Dictators Act, for example, would prevent American tax dollars from flowing through the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to countries that hate us. President Biden’s Treasury Department allowed China to draw billions of dollars in funds from the IMF without consulting Congress. My bill would require the Treasury to get congressional approval before these anti-American countries get a penny from the IMF.
We are working to protect American children from pro-China propaganda, too. Today, one in four young Americans has a favorable view of communism. Older Americans know communism only brings oppression and death—not prosperity and little warm puppies. The Crucial Communism Teaching Act would ensure that younger Americans have the knowledge they need to dispel China’s lies about communism.
I’ve also led the effort to protect the joint U.S.-United Kingdom military base on Diego Garcia in the Chagos Islands. Diego Garcia is optimally located in the Indian Ocean to protect American interests in Africa, Asia and the Middle East. It is also one of the only bases where our troops can reload submarines.
The U.K. has considered handing this vital military base to Mauritius to appease woke United Nations activists who don’t believe England should have territories. China would love nothing more than for Mauritius to be responsible for the safety and security of Diego Garcia. I’ve spoken out against this deal, and I’ll continue to work to ensure that China does not lay a finger on our base.
Louisianians aren’t fending for themselves anymore against the Chinese Communist Party. President Trump, my Republican colleagues and I will continue to protect Louisiana’s interests from China.
