U.S. & China Clash Over Fentanyl and Tariffs at Global Drugs Meet

The United States and China traded accusations on Monday at a United Nations meeting on global drug control, exposing tensions over fentanyl trafficking and the use of tariffs between the two countries.

U.S. officials said China has not done enough to control the production and export of chemical precursors used to manufacture fentanyl. The synthetic opioid has driven a major opioid crisis in the United States, causing tens of thousands of overdose deaths each year.

Washington says many precursor chemicals used by drug cartels originate from Chinese suppliers. The chemicals are often shipped to Mexico drug cartels, where criminal groups manufacture fentanyl and smuggle it across the U.S. border.

• US and China clash over fentanyl at UN drug control meeting
• Washington accuses Beijing over precursor chemicals for opioids
• Tariff tensions surface during global talks on synthetic drugs

Chinese representatives rejected the accusations, calling them unfounded. They said the United States was politicizing the fentanyl issue and using it as a reason to impose tariffs on Chinese goods.

China said it maintains strict controls on narcotics and precursor chemicals and has taken steps in recent years to regulate fentanyl-related substances. Chinese officials also said the United States should address opioid addiction and the social factors behind drug abuse.

The dispute reflects wider tensions between the two countries over U.S.-China trade tensions and security issues. Washington has used tariffs and other measures to pressure Beijing to take stronger action against the supply of fentanyl-related chemicals.

Beijing has criticized those measures as unfair trade practices and said they damage cooperation between the two countries.

Officials from several countries attending the meeting said synthetic drugs such as fentanyl are becoming a growing problem worldwide. Because the drugs can be produced in small quantities using chemical ingredients, they are easier to transport and harder for authorities to detect than traditional narcotics.

Delegates discussed stronger monitoring of chemical precursors, better intelligence sharing and cooperation between international law enforcement agencies to disrupt trafficking networks.

The United Nations meeting forms part of ongoing discussions on global drug trafficking and synthetic drug production.

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However, the exchange between the United States and China showed how political tensions can affect cooperation in drug control efforts. With fentanyl continuing to drive overdose deaths in the United States and other countries, officials say coordinated action between governments remains necessary to limit the spread of synthetic opioids.