By Laura Gottesdiener and Michael Martina
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A group of families whose loved ones died of fentanyl overdoses filed a petition with U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai’s office on Thursday, asking for an investigation into China’s alleged role in fueling the synthetic opioid crisis in the U.S.
The petition was filed under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, a law that allows the US to impose sanctions on foreign countries that violate trade agreements or harm US commerce. The families are seeking trade countermeasures that include tariffs on at least $50 billion in Chinese goods.
China is the world’s leading chemical producer. The petition alleges that the Chinese government has failed to crack down on exports of precursors used by traffickers to produce illegal fentanyl, inaction leading to trillions of dollars in lost productivity, higher health care costs, increased law enforcement spending, and loss of life. due to a fatal overdose of a synthetic drug.
A 2022 analysis conducted by the Joint Economic Committee of Congress estimates that the opioid crisis cost the US nearly $1.5 trillion in 2020.
Synthetic opioid overdoses killed nearly 75,000 people in the U.S. last year alone and approached half a million deaths in the past decade, according to government data.
Section 301 authorizes the United States Trade Representative (USTR) to investigate and defend the US against foreign trade practices, including actions that “burden or restrict” US trade. Any interested party may submit a petition, and USTR must decide within 45 days whether to initiate an investigation.
A USTR spokesperson said the agency was reviewing the petition.
Nazak Nikakhtar, an attorney at the Wiley Rein law firm who filed the petition on behalf of the family, told Reuters the matter was “absolutely” within USTR’s legal jurisdiction given the debilitating impact fentanyl addiction has had on the American workforce and the American economy.
“China is responding to economic pressure. We will put economic pressure on China,” said Nikakhtar, a former Commerce Department official.
The Chinese Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
A Reuters investigation this year revealed that Chinese chemical companies were openly selling fentanyl ingredients on the internet and shipping them to the US easily, thanks in part to unclear US trade regulations, known as de minimis, that allow for low prices. packages to enter the US duty free and with minimal paperwork and inspections.
The petition recommends a range of trade countermeasures, including imposing tariffs on at least $50 billion in Chinese goods and services, and barring Chinese shipments from entering the US via de minimis.
Andrea Thomas, one of the petitioners, said she hopes the trade action will save lives by forcing China to stop exporting the precursor chemical fentanyl.
“There was so much devastation on our family,” said Thomas, whose daughter died in 2018 after taking pills containing fentanyl that she said were painkillers.
China says it has the strictest drug laws in the world, and the US needs to curb domestic demand for narcotics.
The petition comes just weeks before the US presidential election, in which fentanyl is a major issue.
Former President Donald Trump frequently spoke out against the fentanyl crisis, even though deaths from the synthetic opioid more than doubled under his administration. Republican candidates have vowed to take tough action, including possible military action against Mexican cartels.
Vice President Kamala Harris, his Democratic challenger, has vowed to target global supply chains and stop finished fentanyl entering the US from Mexico, where drug cartels operate manufacturing laboratories.
Although overdose deaths in America remain high, the death rate appears to be declining, according to recent government data. President Joe Biden’s administration has praised harm reduction initiatives and law enforcement efforts.
The White House also called the recent revival of counter-narcotics cooperation with China a bright spot in tense relations between the two geopolitically rival countries. But some US lawmakers have called for more aggressive action to pressure Beijing to act.
The USTR petition is an unusual way for families to seek redress over the fentanyl crisis, said Jeff Moon, a former Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Chinese Affairs who now advises businesses on China issues.
At issue, he said, is whether American trade has been unreasonably hampered by China’s policies regarding exports of fentanyl precursors, as argued in the petition.
The filing “appears to be more of an activist effort than a trade stunt,” he said. “If Trump is elected, his preferred solution is tariffs, so maybe they will appeal against that.”
As president, Trump expressed interest in tariffs to address the trade imbalance with China. His administration expanded the use of Article 301, ultimately sparking a trade war with Beijing. His administration has called China’s intellectual property practices and industrial policies a discriminatory burden on US trade.
He said that if he retook the White House, he would consider tariffs to pressure countries, including China, on issues not directly related to trade, such as immigration.
US labor unions in March filed a separate petition requesting that the USTR investigate China’s alleged unfair policies and practices in the maritime logistics and shipbuilding sectors.
USTR launched an ongoing investigation into the case.
China said at the time that it “firmly opposes” the investigation, describing it as “contrary to economic common sense” and based on false accusations.
