WASHINGTON — While it is important to keep pressure on China to help further reduce US fentanyl deaths, the incoming Trump administration must be careful to maintain the progress President Joe Biden has made with Beijing on the issue, the head of the White House's drug-control policy said on Wednesday (Dec 18).

China is the dominant source of chemical precursors used by Mexican cartels to produce fentanyl, a synthetic opioid that kills tens of thousands of Americans annually. Trump has vowed an additional 10 per cent tariff on Chinese goods after he takes office on Jan 20 to push Beijing to do more to stop fentanyl flows into the US

Rahul Gupta, White House director of drug-control policy, said progress had been made with China on fentanyl since Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping met in November 2023 and agreed to tackle the issue.

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