Washington, DC — Today, the United States House of Representatives passed legislation championed by Congressman Andy Barr to hold Chinese opioid manufacturers accountable. The Stop Chinese Fentanyl Act modifies the Fentanyl Sanctions Act by allowing Chinese entities to be sanctioned as foreign opioid traffickers if they are involved in the production, sale, financing, or transportation of synthetic opioids or their precursors but do not take sufficient actions to prevent opioid trafficking. This includes cooperating with U.S. counternarcotics efforts and implementing know-your-customer procedures. This legislation also permits the imposition of sanctions on Chinese officials who have significant regulatory or law enforcement responsibilities over such entities if they fail to take credible steps to combat opioid trafficking.
"The Chinese Communist Party plays a prominent role in every step of the fentanyl crisis from producing precursor chemicals to transferring expertise to laundering cartel profits who illegally traffic it into the United States”, said Congressman Andy Barr. "The Biden administration has abandoned control of the southern border and I am proud to lead this effort to defend our national security.”
The Stop Chinese Fentanyl Act also updates the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to specify the relevant congressional committees for required reporting and consultations, namely the House Committees on Foreign Affairs and Financial Services, and the Senate Committees on Foreign Relations and Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. The bill further demands periodic reviews of sanctions' effectiveness under IEEPA authorities and extends the statute of limitations for prosecuting sanctions violations from five years to ten.