Why It Matters
Since China's 2019 domestic controls curtailed almost all direct fentanyl shipments to the United States, China has become the primary source of the precursor chemicals that transnational criminal organizations use to synthesize fentanyl in third countries, chiefly Mexico, which is a chief concern of U.S. policymakers today. A new Congressional Research Service report examines that shift and identifies oversight, funding, and diplomatic questions Congress may consider in response.
The State Department's March 2025 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report (INCSR) found that "almost no fentanyl or fentanyl analogues have been detected directly entering the United States from China" since the People's Republic of China (PRC) imposed domestic controls in 2019, with production of U.S.-bound illicit fentanyl now concentrated in Mexico. The U.S. intelligence community's Annual Threat Assessment in March identified China and India as the primary source countries for illicit fentanyl precursor chemicals and pill-pressing equipment.
The 2025 INCSR also found that PRC enforcement "remains uneven and opaque" and that China "has in many instances not acted against companies selling non-scheduled fentanyl and other precursor chemicals."
The Big Picture
The PRC completed scheduling all fentanyl precursors listed by the International Narcotics Control Board in June 2025, bringing it in line with its obligations under the 1988 UN Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) assessed that some China-based chemical companies may be reluctant to supply controlled precursors overseas as a result, and that fentanyl producers in Mexico may be struggling to obtain some key precursors.
Following an October 2025 summit between President Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping, the White House reported that China agreed to "stop the shipment of certain designated chemicals to North America." PRC agencies then placed controls on the export to North America of 13 precursor chemicals used to manufacture fentanyl in November 2025, with additional chemicals covered coinciding with Trump's May and September 2026 meetings with Xi.
On the U.S. side, the Trump administration designated "illicit fentanyl and its core precursor chemicals" as Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) through Executive Order 14367 in December 2025. Executive Order 14195, issued Feb. 1, 2025, imposed an additional 10% tariff on PRC products; in February, the Supreme Court invalidated tariffs imposed under those authorities.
The PRC government has argued the core problem is U.S. demand, not supply, and that punitive U.S. tariffs "dealt a heavy blow" to counternarcotics cooperation.
The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2026 (P.L. 119-75) directs at least $150 million for countering trafficking in fentanyl, precursors, and other synthetic drugs, specifically including flows from China and Mexico. The DEA also closed its offices in Shanghai and Guangzhou in 2024 without public explanation.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that synthetic opioids, primarily fentanyl-related substances, caused about 37,393 U.S. overdose deaths in 2025, a decrease of 52 percent from the peak of 77,695 deaths recorded from July 2022 through June 2023.
The Bottom Line
CRS identifies three areas Congress may examine: whether current counternarcotics funding levels are sufficient; whether to conduct oversight of the reporting requirement under the BUST Fentanyl Act (Title LXXXIII of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026, P.L. 119-60), the DEA office closures, and money-laundering enforcement; and whether to assess the implications of the WMD designation for bilateral cooperation with China and other countries, including Mexico.
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