Bipartisan senators call for sanctions to stop fentanyl from China

A bipartisan group of senators introduced legislation Thursday sanctioning drug traffickers to strong-arm China into following through on its pledge to slow the supply of the deadly opioid fentanyl to the U.S.

The bill, the Fentanyl Sanctions Act, would deny traffickers U.S. visas, prohibit drug traffickers from doing business with U.S. banks, and direct U.S. officials to publicly identify foreign opioid traffickers. It would also establish a commission on synthetic opioid trafficking to make additional recommendations.

Most fentanyl is made in China and trafficked through the mail, where it’s first sent to Mexico or Canada before arriving in the U.S. The drug is leading the surge in opioid overdoses observed in recent years, causing nearly 30,000 deaths in 2017.

The unveiling of the legislation comes just days after Chinese public health officials on Monday announced a ban on fentanyl, fulfilling a promise President Xi Jinping made Trump in December. China’s pledge was to target all fentanyl shipments bound for the U.S. and to communicate with U.S. law enforcement about seizures.

Senators said at a press conference Thursday that they doubted Chinese officials were sincere in their promises. China’s position has been that overprescription and an American culture of addiction were to blame for the opioid crisis, not Chinese chemists shipping fentanyl to the U.S.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., drew attention to these remarks, saying, “Color us skeptical that China is going to follow through.”

The Chinese government in the past hasn’t had an explicit ban on fentanyl, but instead evaluates different types on a case-by-case basis. Chemists are regularly making new types of fentanyl, meaning they aren’t technically illegal when they hit the market. Fentanyl is lethal even in small doses — just a salt-shake amount into the palm is enough to kill most people.

People who take drugs such as cocaine or heroin often don’t know fentanyl has been mixed in, and it causes them them to fall asleep and stop breathing, leading to overdose and death if they aren’t given an antidote called naloxone.

Senators said that Chinese officials have gotten aggressive about cracking down on other businesses, but not on the pharmaceutical industry. The ban is expected to take effect May 1.

“They have agreed to stop this industry,” said Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla. “That’s good, but the problem is that the list of agreements that they have made and not kept is longer than the list of agreements they have made and have kept. For us, this is an opportunity to trust and double-verify.”

The legislation will fall under the jurisdiction of the Banking Committee. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, is the ranking member on the committee and among the senators introducing the bill. Schumer told reporters that he had already spoken to Trump about the bill.

“I think there is a very good chance that this passes the Senate, passes the House, and is signed into law by the president,” he said.

The bill was introduced by Schumer, Rubio, Brown, and Sens. Tom Cotton, R-Ark.; and Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H.