Chavez-DeRemer backs House-passed legislation to crack down on international fentanyl trafficking

WASHINGTON – The U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday passed H.R. 3202, the Stop Chinese Fentanyl Act, with bipartisan support. Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer (OR-05) released the following statement in support of the legislation, which seeks to hold China accountable for the proliferation of illicit fentanyl and fentanyl precursors.

“The fentanyl crisis continues poisoning Oregonians and devastating our communities. According to the Oregon Health Authority, fentanyl-related deaths have soared in Oregon by 210 percent since 2020. To tackle this problem effectively and get fentanyl off our streets, we must start at the source and hold international traffickers accountable. The Stop Chinese Fentanyl Act would sanction individuals involved with the production and distribution of precursor chemicals, which are then converted to powdered fentanyl in Mexico and smuggled across the border. This is just one of several efforts I’m supporting to combat the fentanyl crisis and hopefully save lives,” Chavez-DeRemer said.

Specifically, the Stop Chinese Fentanyl Act amends the Fentanyl Sanctions Act to expand the definition of a foreign opioid trafficker to include any Chinese entity that produces, manufacturers, distributes, sells, finances, or transports synthetic opioids or active pharmaceutical ingredients used to produce synthetic opioids, if they fail to take credible steps to detect or prevent opioid trafficking.

The expanded definition also includes any senior officials of China’s government or other Chinese political officials that have significant regulatory or law enforcement responsibilities and fail to take credible steps to combat opioid traffickers.

Full text of the bill is available HERE.