Senator Baldwin Calls for Probe into China's Fentanyl Role

Wisconsin Senator Tammy Baldwin has urged U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai to investigate China’s involvement in the fentanyl crisis. Families affected by overdose deaths have filed a petition asking for tariffs on Chinese goods, citing economic harm and health costs from synthetic opioid overdoses.

Senator Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin has pressed U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai to launch a thorough investigation into China's alleged involvement in the fentanyl crisis. The call for action comes after a group of bereaved families filed a petition, seeking tariffs on Chinese imports, aiming to hold China accountable for the opioid epidemic's ramifications.

The petition, placed under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, as initially reported by Reuters, aims to impose sanctions on China for failing to control exports of chemicals used in illicit fentanyl production. The families claim these failures have inflicted significant economic and social damages on the U.S., including lost productivity and increased healthcare expenditures, with synthetic opioid overdoses nearing half a million fatalities in a decade.

In her communication dated October 23, Baldwin emphasized the need for relief measures against the impact of Chinese actions on the U.S. economy and the well-being of its citizens. While China asserts that it enforces stringent drug regulations, it argues that the crisis is partly due to the narcotics demand within the U.S.

(With inputs from agencies.)