The Chinese Communist Party uses tax breaks to subsidize the production and export of fentanyl materials, a House panel said in a report released Tuesday.
The House Select Committee on China pointed to findings showing China plays a key role in the flow of fentanyl to the U.S., and lawmakers issued a series of recommendations to curb the crisis.
Referring to the People’s Republic of China, the report states: “Through subsidies, grants and other incentives, PRC companies are harming Americans while enriching them.
The report was released just before a scheduled hearing Tuesday, where Speaker Mike Gallagher, R-Wis. and ranking member Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill., details are pending. Yesy argue China is complicit in fueling the fentanyl crisis in the United States
In its report, the committee said it found “no evidence of new criminal activity” to prevent the flow of fentanyl chemicals into the United States.
“This failure – combined with new evidence of the PRC’s establishment of promoting the export of illegal drugs abroad and ownership of stakes in companies that do the same – casts doubt on the veracity of the PRC’s claims that it will act to prevent the mass export of illegal fentanyl materials. and other dangerous synthetic drugs and reinforces the need for global cooperation and communication between law enforcement agencies,” the report said.
The panel had launched an investigation into China’s role in the fentanyl crisis, which included examining public Chinese websites, analyzing government documents and identifying online drug sales, according to the report.
Tuesday’s report makes recommendations to prevent the flow of Chinese-made fentanyl components into the United States.
One proposal in the report is the creation of a joint task force to combat opioids aimed at targeting vulnerabilities in the global illicit fentanyl supply chain.
The report also recommends strengthening sanctions authorities and mobilizing trade and customs control measures to curb fentanyl trafficking, as well as closing regulatory and enforcement gaps.
US officials have identified China as the main source of key ingredients used by drug cartels in Mexico to synthesize fentanyl, and China has suggested that the US has weakened efforts to suppress domestic demand for opioids.
USA and China held high-level negotiations this year after President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping on the fentanyl crisis to resume anti-drug cooperation met in California in November. After that, China stopped cooperation in the field of counter-narcotics 2022 journey by then-Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan, which China claims as its territory, despite the current Taiwanese government rejecting its claim to sovereignty.