US lawmakers propose going after Chinese suppliers of fentanyl
- Legislation would levy economic sanctions on any individual identified as taking part in the production or trafficking of the synthetic opioid
- Proposal follows enactment of a law that equips postal service to better screen for international shipments of fentanyl
Members of the US Congress have proposed new legislation targeted at China in an effort to stem the influx of fentanyl, a synthetic opioid responsible for tens of thousands of drug overdose deaths each year in the United States.
If passed, the Combating Illicit Fentanyl Act of 2018 would commit the US Treasury and State Departments to carry out investigations to identify any Chinese national involved in the production and trafficking of fentanyl.
The act, introduced on Friday by Representative Christopher Smith, a New Jersey Republican, calls on US President Donald Trump to levy economic sanctions on any such individual, including members of the Chinese government. Such sanctions would include barring an individual’s admission into the US and blocking all transactions in property and interests the individual held in the US.
“Synthetic fentanyl produced in China and exported to the US is ravaging our communities,” said Smith, who chairs the House Foreign Affairs Committee’s subcommittee on global health. “Whereas China has gone to war with other drugs that have a demand in China – such as methamphetamine – it has conspicuously failed to launch a similar crackdown on fentanyl, which has no demand in China.”
The announcement of the bill came just days after Trump signed into law legislation intended to reduce the effects of opioids in the US by expanding education to cut demand, bolstering treatment for addiction, and equipping the US Postal Service to better screen international packages for fentanyl.
The passage of that bill on Wednesday was well received across the political spectrum, suggesting that further legislation calling for tough measures against fentanyl suppliers could enjoy similar support.
“Our law enforcement agencies will have more tools to prevent synthetic drugs from being transported from overseas through our postal system”, Senator Amy Klobuchar, a Minnesota Democrat, said following the Wednesday law. “This bipartisan legislation is a major step forward in combating the opioid crisis by stemming the flow of synthetic drugs into our country.”