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1 1 (July 18, 2022)

handle is hein.crs/goveihq0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Con gre &ionaI Resedrch SE hnformino Ahec Nisative debate sine 191 Updated July 18, 2022 China Primer: Illicit Fentanyl and China's Role Addressing illicit fentanyl in the context of the ongoing opioid crisis in the United States is a domestic and foreign policy issue for the 117th Congress. In addressing the international dimensions of the problem, policymakers have endeavored to stop foreign-sourced fentanyl, fentanyl- related substances (i.e., analogues and precursor chemicals), and emerging synthetic opioids from entering the United States. U.S. counternarcotics policy has included a focus on reducing fentanyl and fentanyl precursor flows from the People's Republic of China (PRC, or China). Despite some early successes, cooperation with the PRC appears to have waned in recent years, consistent with an overall deterioration in U.S.-China relations. Background Fentanyl is a potent synthetic opioid used medically as a painkiller and an anesthetic since it was first synthesized in 1959. Due to fentanyl's potential for abuse and addiction, the United Nations (U.N.) placed it under international control in 1964. In the United States, fentanyl is regulated by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), pursuant to the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970, as amended (21 U.S.C. §§801 et seq.). Fentanyl and its analogues have emerged as a major international drug control problem. Overdose deaths from their abuse have continued to rise in the United States, and a growing number of fentanyl analogues appear marketed for nonmedical, often unregulated use. As of November 2021, the International Narcotics Control Board-an independent expert body that monitors government compliance with international drug control treaties- reported the existence of more than 150 fentanyl-related substances with no currently known legitimate uses. The U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime estimates that laboratories could potentially synthesize thousands of other fentanyl analogues. As of June 2022, more than 30 fentanyl-related substances, including precursors, are scheduled for international control pursuant to the U.N. Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961, as amended, and the U.N. Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances of 1988. In 2017, U.N. member states agreed to list two fentanyl precursor chemicals on Table I of the 1988 Convention, subjecting them for the first time to international controls: N-phenethyl-4-piperidone (NPP) and 4-anilino-N- phenethyl-4-piperidone (ANPP). (In February 2018, consistent with the U.N. decision, the PRC implemented corresponding domestic controls.) In March 2022, U.N. member states decided to add three more fentanyl precursors under international control: 4-anilinopiperidine (4-AP), 1-(tert-butoxycarbonyl)-4-phenylaminopiperidine (boc-4-AP), and N-phenyl-N-(piperidin-4-yl) propionamide (norfentanyl). Sources and Trafficking Pathways While not a new phenomenon, the illicit production and trafficking of fentanyl and fentanyl analogues in recent years have been associated with rising numbers of U.S. opioid-related overdose fatalities. Clandestine laboratories may engage in illicit production of fentanyl, fentanyl analogues, and precursors. Legitimate companies may produce unregulated analogues and precursors, while legally manufactured fentanyl pharmaceutical products may be diverted through theft and fraudulent prescriptions. In the years immediately prior to 2019, China was the primary source of U.S.-bound illicit fentanyl, fentanyl precursors, and production equipment. Fentanyl and fentanyl-related substances were trafficked directly from the PRC to the United States through international mail and express consignment operations. Trafficking patterns have changed since the PRC imposed class-wide controls over all fentanyl-related substances, effective May 2019. Today, Mexican transnational criminal organizations (TCOs) are largely responsible for the production of U.S.-consumed illicit fentanyl, using PRC-sourced primary materials, including precursor chemicals that are legal to produce and export in China. According to DEA assessments cited by the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, Chinese traffickers and money launderers appear to have increased cooperation with Mexican cartels. In February 2022, the U.S. Commission on Combating Synthetic Opioid Trafficking, established pursuant to Section 7221 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020 (P.L. 116-92), concluded that the PRC's chemical and pharmaceutical sectors have outpaced the government's efforts to regulate them, creating opportunities for unscrupulous vendors to export chemicals needed in their illegal manufacture. Moreover, the commission found that traffickers' exploitation of existing global logistics and trade networks (e.g., postal, courier, and commercial cargo systems), as well as widely used online marketing and communication platforms, including those with encryption capabilities, challenge law enforcement detection of fentanyl-related flows. The U.S. Department of the Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network has reported that traffickers also exploit features of the dark web and cryptocurrencies to procure and purchase fentanyl-related substances. Add ressing Ch ina's Role U.S. foreign policy efforts to stem the flow of illicit fentanyl-related substances into the United States have focused on bilateral engagement and multilateral cooperation with entities including the United Nations and other stakeholders on such goals as scheduling more fentanyl analogues and precursors for drug control. Such efforts fit within broader goals of targeting the foreign

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