Foreign relations of the United States

The United States has vast economic, political and military influence on a global scale, which makes its foreign policy a subject of great interest and discussion around the world.

Illicit drugs

United States foreign policy is influenced by the efforts of the U.S. government to halt imports of illicit drugs, including cocaine, heroin, and marijuana. This is especially true in Latin America, a focus for the U.S. War on Drugs. Those efforts date back to at least 1880, when the U.S. and China completed an agreement which prohibited the shipment of opium between the two countries.

Related Topics:
Drugs - Cocaine - Heroin - Marijuana - Latin America - War on Drugs - Prohibited - Opium

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Over a century latger, the Foreign Relations Authorization Act requires the President to identify the major drug transit or major illicit drug-producing countries. In September 2005 http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/09/20050915-2.html, the following countries were identified: Bahamas, Bolivia, Brazil, Burma, Colombi, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Haiti, India, Jamaica, Laos, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Panama, Paraguay, Peru and Venezuela. Two of these, Burma and Venezuela are countries that the U.S. considers to have failed to adhere to their obligations under international counternarcotics agreements during the previous twelve months. Notably absent from the 2005 list were the People's Republic of China and Vietnam; Canada was also omitted in spite of evidence that criminal groups there are increasingly involved in the production of MDMA destined for the United States and that large-scale cross-border trafficking of Canadian-grown marijuana continues. The U.S. believes that The Netherlands are successfully countering the production and flow of MDMA to the U.S.

Related Topics:
Foreign Relations Authorization Act - Bahamas - Bolivia - Brazil - Burma - Colombi - Dominican Republic - Ecuador - Guatemala - Haiti - India - Jamaica - Laos - Mexico - Nigeria - Pakistan - Panama - Paraguay - Peru - Venezuela - People's Republic of China - Vietnam - Canada - MDMA - The Netherlands

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