Late last month, lost in the outrage over the administration’s breakneck efforts to cut wasteful federal programs, came a quiet but critical development that will go a long way toward protecting U.S. technological innovation.
President Trump’s International Trade Commission unanimously ruled in January that the NJOY Ace, a vaping product developed in China by Shenzhen Smoore Technology Limited, violated multiple patents owned by American vaping pioneer Juul Labs.
Promoting American innovation and protecting American consumers go hand in hand. The Biden administration’s strategy failed miserably.
The ITC ordered an import ban on NJOY Ace vapes and cartridges, which are now owned by Altria, in 60 days. Although it does not have a significant market share in the United States, Altria’s Chinese copycat made a laughingstock of American intellectual property laws. Removing them from the market is a great victory for President Trump and all of us who care about protecting American innovation and discouraging companies in hostile foreign nations from cheating to try to compete in the United States.
Now, Trump and his FDA should turn their attention to the public health threat posed by the tens of thousands of unauthorized, toxic e-cigarettes made in China that sneak into our country each month. These products, mostly disposable flavored vapes that aren’t FDA-approved, comprise more than 85% of total e-cigarette sales in America.
The Biden administration’s lax border policies allowed Chinese vape companies to smuggle more than $30 billion worth of these illegal disposable vapes into the country. Even more outrageous? Most of these products areactually illegal to sell in China itself. China won’t let its own citizens buy these products, but they’re happy to dump them on America’s streets.
Meanwhile, American companies trying to comply with the law are getting crushed. U.S. companies have invested billions in rigorous testing and safety measures, following FDA rules to the letter. Their reward? Being undercut by Chinese companies that ignore our laws and flood the market with unregulated products containing who-knows-what chemicals. Not only are they unsafe, but these importersmislabel products to avoid paying tariffs, too. The lawlessness must be stopped immediately.
The FDA’s response to this challenge has been pathetically weak. While the agency has sat on authorization requests from American e-cigarette makers, an estimated 1,000 new, illegal Chinese disposable vapes pour across our borders every month. Recent seizures —$7 million worth in Miami in January and$76 million in October — are just drops in the bucket. It’s like trying to empty the ocean with a teaspoon.
President Trump showed during his first term that he understands the balance needed here. His FDA policy banned flavored pods while preserving options for adult smokers — protecting both public health and American businesses. But that smart approach was undermined by the Biden administration’s weak border enforcement that let Chinese competitors run wild.
America can’t become great again while Chinese companies are flooding our neighborhoods with dangerous, unauthorized vaping products. President Trump gets it. He’s called these Chinese e-cigarettes exactly what they are: “poison.” Now, we need to do something about it.
This isn’t just about business — it’s about public health and national security. Studies show these Chinese products routinely misrepresent their nicotine content. Some even come with built-in video games in a cynical marketing ploy to American youth. We need an FDA focused on creating regulated pathways to less harmful alternatives — not letting China use our communities as a dumping ground for their rejected products.Almost half a million Americans die annually from smoking-related chronic disease. Why should we allow dangerous and unapproved products into the country?
It’s time to bring law and order back to the e-cigarette market. The mission is clear: Protect American consumers, support American job creators, and stop China’s toxic flood of illegal products. Promoting American innovation and protecting American consumers go hand in hand. The Biden administration’s strategy failed miserably.
President Trump has already scored an early win against China by getting a copycat product made with stolen American IP off the market. By ridding the thousands of illegal and dangerous Chinese vapes from our streets, he can send an even clearer message to Beijing: The days of using America as your dumping ground for sketchy vaping products are over.
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