China Imposes Chemical Restrictions after Trump’s Fentanyl Tariff Accord
China announced on Monday that it is fulfilling its commitment to address chemicals that can be utilized in the production of fentanyl. This matter has been a significant point of discussion for President Donald Trump in recent negotiations with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, as both leaders seek to implement measures to alleviate a trade conflict. Beijing has declared new export restrictions on 13 chemicals used in drug manufacturing to the United States, Canada, and Mexico. These chemicals include those utilized in the production of the synthetic opioid that is responsible for tens of thousands of overdose deaths annually in the US. Following his meeting with Xi in South Korea last month, Trump stated that China would assist in resolving the fentanyl crisis and indicated he would reduce a related tariff from 20 percent to 10 percent. It illustrates the fluctuating dynamics of US-Chinese collaboration on fentanyl throughout the years and mitigates the recent strains following Trump’s initiation of tariffs, including those targeting the nation that is the leading exporter of pharmaceutical components, such as the substances utilized in the production of fentanyl. “What the Trump administration has essentially agreed with Beijing is for Beijing to restart what it had been doing during the second part of 2024,” before Trump returned to the White House, said Vanda Felbab-Brown.
In response to a question about whether the agreement effectively reinstates the collaboration with China that was interrupted by Trump’s tariffs, White House deputy press secretary Anna Kelly stated that the president has undertaken every conceivable measure to halt the influx of illegal narcotics into the nation, including securing the border, targeting drug boats, and limiting fentanyl precursors. Collaboration on fentanyl has consistently been a contentious issue in the dynamics between Beijing and Washington. In 2019, during Trump’s first term, Beijing made a significant move by restricting fentanyl and related substances at the request of the US president. As tensions escalated between Beijing and Washington regarding human rights concerns, China began to delay counternarcotics cooperation in 2020, ultimately formalizing this stance two years later. In 2023, the US designated China as a significant illicit drug-producing nation prior to then-President Joe Biden’s meeting with Xi in California, aiming to obtain Beijing’s commitment to collaborate. Shortly thereafter, Beijing imposed further restrictions on additional substances, including another synthetic opioid and chemicals that are incorporated into fentanyl. In September 2024, other key fentanyl precursors were curtailed.
Upon assuming the presidency, Trump imposed two 10 percent tariffs on China, alleging that the country had not adequately addressed the influx of chemicals. Beijing reacted by imposing its own tariffs and suspending cooperation on fentanyl. Felbab-Brown stated, “The Trump administration made the big error in completely discounting and ignoring what China was doing with the US in 2024 and just coming in with guns blazing on tariffs. That, she said, has allowed Beijing to bargain to resume measures that were already on the table in the second half of 2024 and get double points.” On Monday, Beijing made a significant move to address US concerns, indicating a commitment to stricter enforcement through a public notice issued by the China National Narcotics Control Commission. The notice urged businesses to adhere to tax codes, customs regulations, internet laws, and foreign currency rules. The chemicals recently restricted by Beijing may still be exported without a license to countries other than the three specified in the Chinese Commerce Ministry announcement. Fentanyl is primarily produced in Mexico.
Felbab-Brown stated, “The challenge remains that the very basic chemicals with widespread, legitimate uses in chemistry, agriculture and the pharmaceutical industry are increasingly tapped to make synthetic opioids.” In September, Trump maintained that China is a significant illicit drug-producing country. For an extended period, has facilitated the illicit production of fentanyl in Mexico and other locations by subsidizing the export of precursor chemicals essential for creating these lethal substances and neglecting to stop Chinese companies from supplying these precursors to recognized criminal cartels, the presidential statement said.
