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There were a truckload of articles on this published over the last several years, even during the Obama administration, on how this "international China shippin

There were a truckload of articles on this published over the last several years, even during the Obama administration, on how this "international China shipping" being cheaper than "domestic shipping" destroyed small businesses and was also responsible for hundreds (likely thousands) of American deaths thanks to cheap fentayl shipments. This was the most nonsensical self-destructive American policy that strangely never caught much mainstream media attention.

xzel 6y ago
With the potency to weight ratio Fentanyl has, do you really think the shipping being slightly more expensive will make it cost prohibitive? "A kilogram of heroin is purchased for approximately $6,000 and sold for appropriately $80,000." [1] Paying a few more dollars for shipping, which would be the case, doesn't make a dent in profitability. 1. https://www.affirmhealth.com/blog/word-on-the-street-fentanyl https://www.affirmhealth.com/blog/word-on-the-street-fentany...
- lenkite 6y ago
  I am truly disappointed at the downvotes and the complete lack of research done by down-voters. The answer to your question is "Yes" not because of cost prohibition - but because most fentayl imports are less than 700 grams - which get lost in the massive flood of UPS e-Packet shipments and thus near impossible to inspect. I beg you to carry out your own research before expressing such disbelief. Please read this briefing by the US trade commission https://www.usitc.gov/publications/332/executive_briefings/ebot_george_serletis_fentanyl_from_china_pdf.pdf https://www.usitc.gov/publications/332/executive_briefings/e... "The illicit trade follows the standard e-commerce model of small-scale shipments and B2C and B2B distribution channels. The trade is SME-focused, with small-scale Chinese suppliers primarily exporting to individuals and small independent U.S. criminal networks.China was the source of 97 percent of inbound shipments of high-purity fentanyl during 2016 and 2017" "Given the high purity of Chinese fentanyl, most illicit imports are less than 700 grams (1.5 lbs.) per shipment. "
  - thaumasiotes 6y ago
    > I am truly disappointed at at the downvotes and the complete lack of research done by down-voters. The answer to your question is "Yes" not because of cost prohibition - but because most fentayl imports are less than 700 grams - which get lost in the massive flood of UPS e-Packet shipments and thus near impossible to inspect. So what? 100 grams would be bought, by the numbers above, for $600 and sold for $8,000. If shipping cost $200, no one would care. That would add $2,000 in shipping costs to the full kilogram, but, again, no one would care. It's just not significant. Do you have an argument to advance that isn't ludicrous on its face?
    - lenkite 6y ago
      It is not a matter of the shipping cost. Can you please state which statement do you find ludicrous ? 1. Chinese fentayl shipments do not need to have high weight due to purity. Mentioned explicitly in the trade commission report linked above. 2. Due to 1), it is convenient to leverage e-packet shipment as inspection of massive volume of e-packet shipments is near impossible. 3. Small-scale US businesses were adversely affected by e-packet rates https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2018/10/trump-changes-terminal-dues-and-epacket-rates/573337/ https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2018/10/trump...
      - close04 6y ago
        >> There were a truckload of articles [...] on how this "international China shipping" being cheaper than "domestic shipping" destroyed small businesses > It is not a matter of the shipping cost. Seems like your original point was centered on shipping costs destroying domestic businesses. In light of the downvotes it became mostly a matter of drug imports in small, cheap packages: > most fentayl imports are less than 700 grams - which get lost in the massive flood of UPS e-Packet shipments and thus near impossible to inspect Which is irrelevant, shipping costs (within reason) won't change this.
        lenkite 6y ago
        "Seems like your original point was centered on shipping costs" I made both points right at the beginning, though the thread got focused around one of them. 1. e-packet shipping cost adversely affecting US businesses 2. e-packet being used to hide fentayl shipments thanks to massive volume and delivery convenience. (cheap and fast) "Which is irrelevant, this will be the case regardless of the shipping costs, within reason." I fail to understand this statement. How will reduction of e-packets - one of the major causes of the bloat of international packages not help in inspection ? If you reduce the total number of e-packets by removing the subsidy, then it becomes far easier to inspect which packages have fentayl and which do not. EMS shipments apparently quadrupled after the e-packet scheme was introduced which adversely affected all inspection procedures as agencies could not cope with the volume. Reduce the volume by removing the subsidy - the inspection agencies can then manage their job.
- imtringued 6y ago
  I'm not sure if you read the article you linked. It clearly refers to easier smuggling. If it was possible to just "ship" heroin then those profit margins wouldn't exist. The heroin would be bought for $6k and sold for say $6.5k. The reason why it sells for that much is because a substantial portion of the margin is spent on smuggling.

xzel 6y ago

With the potency to weight ratio Fentanyl has, do you really think the shipping being slightly more expensive will make it cost prohibitive? "A kilogram of heroin is purchased for approximately $6,000 and sold for appropriately $80,000." [1] Paying a few more dollars for shipping, which would be the case, doesn't make a dent in profitability. 1. https://www.affirmhealth.com/blog/word-on-the-street-fentanyl https://www.affirmhealth.com/blog/word-on-the-street-fentany...

lenkite 6y ago
I am truly disappointed at the downvotes and the complete lack of research done by down-voters. The answer to your question is "Yes" not because of cost prohibition - but because most fentayl imports are less than 700 grams - which get lost in the massive flood of UPS e-Packet shipments and thus near impossible to inspect. I beg you to carry out your own research before expressing such disbelief. Please read this briefing by the US trade commission https://www.usitc.gov/publications/332/executive_briefings/ebot_george_serletis_fentanyl_from_china_pdf.pdf https://www.usitc.gov/publications/332/executive_briefings/e... "The illicit trade follows the standard e-commerce model of small-scale shipments and B2C and B2B distribution channels. The trade is SME-focused, with small-scale Chinese suppliers primarily exporting to individuals and small independent U.S. criminal networks.China was the source of 97 percent of inbound shipments of high-purity fentanyl during 2016 and 2017" "Given the high purity of Chinese fentanyl, most illicit imports are less than 700 grams (1.5 lbs.) per shipment. "
- thaumasiotes 6y ago
  > I am truly disappointed at at the downvotes and the complete lack of research done by down-voters. The answer to your question is "Yes" not because of cost prohibition - but because most fentayl imports are less than 700 grams - which get lost in the massive flood of UPS e-Packet shipments and thus near impossible to inspect. So what? 100 grams would be bought, by the numbers above, for $600 and sold for $8,000. If shipping cost $200, no one would care. That would add $2,000 in shipping costs to the full kilogram, but, again, no one would care. It's just not significant. Do you have an argument to advance that isn't ludicrous on its face?
  - lenkite 6y ago
    It is not a matter of the shipping cost. Can you please state which statement do you find ludicrous ? 1. Chinese fentayl shipments do not need to have high weight due to purity. Mentioned explicitly in the trade commission report linked above. 2. Due to 1), it is convenient to leverage e-packet shipment as inspection of massive volume of e-packet shipments is near impossible. 3. Small-scale US businesses were adversely affected by e-packet rates https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2018/10/trump-changes-terminal-dues-and-epacket-rates/573337/ https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2018/10/trump...
    - close04 6y ago
      >> There were a truckload of articles [...] on how this "international China shipping" being cheaper than "domestic shipping" destroyed small businesses > It is not a matter of the shipping cost. Seems like your original point was centered on shipping costs destroying domestic businesses. In light of the downvotes it became mostly a matter of drug imports in small, cheap packages: > most fentayl imports are less than 700 grams - which get lost in the massive flood of UPS e-Packet shipments and thus near impossible to inspect Which is irrelevant, shipping costs (within reason) won't change this.
      - lenkite 6y ago
        "Seems like your original point was centered on shipping costs" I made both points right at the beginning, though the thread got focused around one of them. 1. e-packet shipping cost adversely affecting US businesses 2. e-packet being used to hide fentayl shipments thanks to massive volume and delivery convenience. (cheap and fast) "Which is irrelevant, this will be the case regardless of the shipping costs, within reason." I fail to understand this statement. How will reduction of e-packets - one of the major causes of the bloat of international packages not help in inspection ? If you reduce the total number of e-packets by removing the subsidy, then it becomes far easier to inspect which packages have fentayl and which do not. EMS shipments apparently quadrupled after the e-packet scheme was introduced which adversely affected all inspection procedures as agencies could not cope with the volume. Reduce the volume by removing the subsidy - the inspection agencies can then manage their job.
imtringued 6y ago
I'm not sure if you read the article you linked. It clearly refers to easier smuggling. If it was possible to just "ship" heroin then those profit margins wouldn't exist. The heroin would be bought for $6k and sold for say $6.5k. The reason why it sells for that much is because a substantial portion of the margin is spent on smuggling.