About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

1 1 (February 20, 2024)

handle is hein.crs/goveojt0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Con re &onoI fles horniig len I avede a 3rch Service since 1914 Updated February 20, 2024 China Primer: Illicit Fentanyl and China's Role In addressing the international dimension of the opioid crisis in the United States, policymakers have sought to stop foreign-sourced fentanyl, fentanyl-related substances (i.e., analogues), and chemical inputs (e.g., precursors) from entering the United States. Beginning in the mid-2010s, U.S. authorities identified the People's Republic of China (PRC, or China) as a primary source of U.S.-bound illicit fentanyl and fentanyl analogues. The PRC's imposition of class-wide controls over all fentanyl-related substances in 2019 changed trafficking patterns. Direct flows of such substances from China to the United States appeared largely to cease. Today, the focus of China-related U.S. counternarcotics policy has shifted to preventing PRC- sourced fentanyl precursors and associated equipment, along with other synthetic drugs that may be mixed with fentanyl substances, from entering the U.S.-bound fentanyl supply chain. The U.S. government also seeks to target illicit fentanyl-related financial flows linked to China. A November 2023 summit in California between President Joseph R. Biden Jr. and China's leader, Xi Jinping, renewed cooperation on drug control issues after more than three years of stasis. Background Fentanyl is a potent synthetic opioid that has been 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. Domestically, 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.). The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that synthetic opioids (primarily fentanyl-related substances) may have resulted in more than 78,000 U.S. overdose deaths between September 2022 and August 2023. Traffickers appear to be marketing a growing number of fentanyl analogues for nonmedical, often unregulated, use. As of November 2023, the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB)-an independent expert body that monitors governments' compliance with U.N. drug control conventions-reported the existence of 153 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 May 2023, more than 30 fentanyl-related substances, including precursors, are subject to international control (scheduled) 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. U.N. member states first subjected fentanyl precursors to international control in 2017, agreeing to list the precursors N-Phenethyl-4-piperidone (NPP) and 4-Anilino-N- phenethylpiperidine (ANPP) on Table I of the 1988 Convention. In 2018, consistent with the U.N. decision, the PRC implemented corresponding domestic controls. In 2022, U.N. member states subjected three additional fentanyl precursors to international control: N-Phenyl-4- piperidinamine (4-AP), tert-Butyl 4-(phenylamino) piperidine-1-carboxylate (1-boc-4-AP), and norfentanyl. In June 2023, the PRC government said it was in the process of scheduling three additional fentanyl precursors- presumably those the U.N. scheduled in 2022-but the PRC has provided no further information. Sources and Trafficking Pathways DEA alleges that PRC-based chemical companies advertise and sell online fentanyl precursor chemicals, including some that are not internationally controlled and are correspondingly legal to export out of China. PRC firms also sell other synthetic drugs of concern, including xylazine and nitazenes. PRC companies ship such items to Mexico or directly to the United States, including via the U.S. Postal Service and express consignment services, carefully packaged to deceive customs inspectors. According to DEA, customers, often associated with Mexico-based transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), may pay for the chemicals and drugs in cryptocurrencies, making it harder for DEA to follow the money. They also pay using U.S. and PRC payment services or bank transfers. DEA alleges that the TCOs use largely PRC-sourced chemicals to synthesize fentanyl substances in clandestine laboratories, and often mix xylazine and nitazenes into fentanyl-related products, making the substances even deadlier, before distributing them across North America. The 2022 report of the U.S. Commission on Combating Synthetic Opioid Trafficking (established pursuant to §7221 of 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. The U.S. Department of the Treasury assesses that Mexico-based cartels are increasingly working with PRC money laundering organizations. Add ressing China's Role The Biden Administration's 2022 National Drug Control Strategy prioritizes increased collaboration with the PRC on shared drug priorities and continued engagement to reduce diversion of uncontrolled precursor chemicals. In February 2023 Senate testimony, Assistant Secretary of State for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs Todd Robinson noted that the United States has encouraged the PRC to improve information-sharing on global chemical flows, strengthen enforcement of customs manifesting agreements, and implement know-your- customer standards to restrict the sale of precursor chemicals to only customers with legitimate needs. In July

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most