Senator Proposes Sanctioning Chinese Suppliers of Fentanyl Precursors

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., introduced a bill this week that could lead to sanctions being imposed on Chinese entities and officials involved in producing precursor chemicals for fentanyl.

Rubio’s Fentanyl Reduction Engrained by Economic Deterrence (FREED) Act, which was referred to the Senate Banking Committee, would require the administration to impose sanctions within 60 days of the bill’s enactment into law or justify why sanctions shouldn't be imposed. Chinese chemical companies are considered the world’s main source of fentanyl precursors (see 2404160039).

“Ensuring an end to the production of fentanyl is crucial to protecting Americans and our interests,” Rubio said. “We must start by addressing the origins of this vicious supply chain.”

The bill’s goals are similar to those of the Fentanyl Eradication and Narcotics Deterrence (FEND) Off Fentanyl Act, which was enacted into law in April, but the two measures take different approaches, a Rubio spokesperson said. Instead of focusing on Chinese entities, as Rubio’s bill would do, the FEND Off Fentanyl Act requires sanctions on transnational criminal organizations and key cartel members engaged in international fentanyl trafficking (see 2401110042).