The House passed a bill Tuesday aimed at holding China accountable for its role the fentanyl crisis.
Fentanyl is the leading cause of death in America for people between the age of 18 and 45.
“The Chinese Communist Party has played a key part in the deadly fentanyl crisis plaguing Kentucky and our entire country—from manufacturing fentanyl in China to laundering the products through the cartels and into the country,” Rep. Andy Barr, R-Ky., who introduced the legislation, said in a statement Tuesday.
The Stop Chinese Fentanyl Act specifically targets fentanyl manufacturers by allowing the U.S. government to sanction Chinese organizations, individuals, or government if those entities, according to Barr’s office:
Mexico’s criminal cartels are believed to use a chemical primarily sourced from China to make fentanyl, according to the Drug Enforcement Agency.
“President [Donald] Trump is securing our border after the chaos of the last four years under Joe Biden and border Czar Kamala Harris. The STOP Chinese Fentanyl Act will help President Trump and his team clean up the border by exerting maximum financial pain on the Chinese producers of this deadly drug,” Barr said.
The border policies of the Biden administration resulted in a rise in narcotics crossing the southern border into the U.S.
So far in fiscal year 2025, Customs and Border Protection has seized over 10,000 lbs. of fentanyl, compared with nearly 22,000 lbs. in fiscal year 2024 and 27,000 lbs. in 2023. As little as 2 milligrams of fentanyl can be lethal.
In his home state of Kentucky, Barr, who is running for Senate, says nearly seven out of every 10 overdose deaths are caused by fentanyl.
The bill will now need to pass through the Senate before heading to Trump’s desk for the president’s signature.