WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer would like to impose sanctions on China over fentanyl production. According to CBS News, Schumer says he will push to include the sanctions as an amendment to the upcoming defense bill.
As Emily’s Hope has previously reported, the United States has already imposed sanctions on 17 individuals and entities in China and Mexico, accusing them of facilitating the production of counterfeit fentanyl-laced pills.
This comes as the United States is facing its deadliest drug epidemic in history. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says that the rate of drug overdose deaths involving fentanyl in the US has more than tripled from 2016 to 2021. Fentanyl is significantly stronger than heroin and morphine and is often mixed with other illicit drugs, leading to deadly consequences.
“We have learned the sad fact of the matter is that we know where this starts and predominantly comes from, and that is China, and the Chinese government does nothing about it,” Schumer told CBS News.
The amendment would also declare fentanyl trafficking a national emergency. It has bipartisan support in the Senate.
