US lawmakers propose bills targeting China's role in fentanyl crisis

A bipartisan group of US lawmakers has proposed three bills designed to address China's involvement in the US fentanyl crisis. The proposed legislation includes the creation of a US task force to combat narcotics trafficking and provisions that would enable sanctions against Chinese entities, the Voice of America reported.

The legislation proposed on Tuesday aims to hold China's ruling Communist Party (CCP) responsible for "directly contributing to the fentanyl crisis by subsidizing precursor chemicals," according to the House of Representatives Select Committee on China, which includes all the bill sponsors.

According to the American authorities, China is the primary source of chemical precursors used by Mexican cartels to manufacture fentanyl, and Chinese money launderers have become crucial figures in the global drug trade.

According to the VOA, one of the bills, the CCP Fentanyl Sanctions Act, introduced by Democratic Representative Jake Auchincloss, would establish legal authority for the US to block Chinese companies from accessing the U.S. banking system. This includes sanctioning vessels, ports, and online platforms that "knowingly or recklessly" enable the shipment of illegal synthetic drugs.

Auchincloss stated, "This is state-sponsored poisoning of the American people. The genesis of this is squarely on the mainland of the People's Republic of China."

The committee stated that two additional bills would establish a task force of US agencies to carry out joint operations aimed at disrupting trafficking networks. These bills would also enable civil penalties to be imposed on Chinese entities that do not properly declare or use official entry routes when shipping precursors to the US, as reported by the VOA.

China claims to have some of the strictest drug laws globally and argues that the US must address domestic narcotics demand. The Chinese Embassy in Washington has not yet commented on the bills. With limited time left in the current congressional session, the bills will probably need to be reintroduced next year after the new Congress is sworn in on January 3.