On Thursday, March 6, the United States Senate saw bipartisan cooperation as a new bill was introduced with the aim of combating the influx of fentanyl and its precursors from China, Mexico, and other countries into the United States. This initiative is also linked to one of the reasons behind President Trump’s imposition of new tariffs.
The bill was introduced by Jim Risch, the Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and a Republican Senator from Idaho, and Jeanne Shaheen, the Ranking Member of the committee and a Democratic Senator from New Hampshire, as reported by the Associated Press.
While the bill does not directly tie tariffs to fentanyl smuggling, it seeks to expand powers to sanction entities, including banks, linked to the Chinese government or controlled by it, which are involved in financing the trafficking of opioid drugs. The measure also calls for the U.S. government to track more chemical substances that can be used in the production of fentanyl.
Risch described China as the “largest source” supplying “fentanyl and synthetic opioid precursors to Mexican drug cartels,” accusing the Chinese government of supporting such criminal activities.
He stated, “These opioid drugs then make their way across our southern border, causing over 100,000 American deaths annually. This must end, and those responsible must be held accountable.”
Shaheen emphasized that the U.S. should “utilize all tools at our disposal to stem the flow of fentanyl.”
She pointed out that China is the “primary supplier of fentanyl precursors and has not done enough to curb the export of these chemicals or prevent Mexican transnational criminal organizations from smuggling fentanyl into the United States.”
Last year, the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission released a report stating that Beijing provides subsidies for drug traffickers manufacturing drugs overseas, exacerbating the fentanyl crisis in the United States.
The Chinese government has stated that it has taken various measures, including “severely cracking down on fentanyl-related crimes,” “strictly controlling fentanyl-related substance precursors,” and “promoting global governance of fentanyl-related substances.”
In June last year, China’s Ministry of Public Security announced that, based on information provided by the United States, they had launched an investigation leading to the arrest of a crime suspect, involving a complex money laundering and drug trafficking network between China, Mexico, and the United States. Reportedly, the suspect operated a car dealership in the U.S. and engaged in illegal foreign exchange transactions.
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration found that fentanyl precursors and drug manufacturing equipment flow from China to labs in Mexico, where the powder and pills are produced before being smuggled into the United States. The DEA highlighted that drug traffickers launder their profits through underground banks operated by Chinese nationals.