China says it has added more than a dozen fentanyl precursor chemicals to its export control list as it appears to crack down on the flow of illicit drugs following a deal with President Trump earlier this month.
Thirteen such chemicals were added to a list of controlled exports to the US, Mexico and Canada by the Chinese Commerce Ministry and several other Chinese government agencies, China’s state broadcaster CCTV stated Monday.
The substances include families of compounds often used to make fentanyl – a dangerous synthetic opioid that’s currently the leading cause of overdose deaths in the US, according to the US Government Accountability Office.
The White House announced on Nov. 1 that Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping reached a trade deal – after months of tumultuous talks that have both upset American soybean farmers and caused panic over a potential rare earths shortage.
According to the Trump administration, China agreed to end its strict export controls on rare earths, stop retaliating against US chipmakers and open its market to US soybeans.
It also agreed to “halt the flow of precursors used to make fentanyl into the United States.”
The US on Monday halved tariffs Trump had slapped on Chinese goods specifically because of the fentanyl trade at the start of his term. Those levies are now 10%.
That brings the average total of tariffs on Chinese goods from 57.6% down to 47.6% – lower than the 50% rate currently imposed on Brazil and India.
“The President has taken every possible action to stop the flow of illicit narcotics into our country, from securing the border to striking drug boats to curbing fentanyl precursors, and he will continue to do everything in his power to destroy the scourge of narcoterrorism that destroys over 100,000 American lives every year,” White House spokesperson Anna Kelly told The Post in a statement.
Earlier this year, Trump cited the illegal fentanyl trade as his justification for imposing harsh tariffs on Chinese goods, as well as products from Mexico and Canada, arguing that the drug came from China through the borders.
FBI Director Kash Patel visited China last week to discuss fentanyl and law enforcement issues, according to a Reuters report.
Meanwhile, Beijing and Washington have ended port fees on one another’s ships for one year as trade tensions start to ease.
After his recent meeting with Xi in South Korea, Trump boasted that the pair reached a historic deal.
“On the scale of 0 to 10, with 10 being the best, I would say the meeting was a 12,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One after leaving the South Korean air base that hosted the nearly two-hour summit.
“We have a deal. Now, every year we will renegotiate the deal. But I think the deal will go on for a long time.”
The agreement averted Trump’s threat to hike tariffs on China up to 100% in protest of the export restrictions.
