Section 1 Short title
This Act may be cited as the “Strengthening Sanctions on Fentanyl Traffickers Act of 2025”.
Strengthening Sanctions on Fentanyl Traffickers Act of 2025
A BILL
To impose sanctions with respect to persons that contribute to international trafficking of illicit drugs, including companies of the People’s Republic of China that supply fentanyl precursors and certain cartels that traffic fentanyl into the United States, and for other purposes.
Sec. 2 Definitions
In this Act:
Admission; admitted; alien; lawfully admitted for permanent residence; national— The terms admission, admitted, alien, lawfully admitted for permanent residence, and national have the meanings given those terms in section 101 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101).
Foreign person— The term foreign person means a person that is not a United States person.
Knowingly; knows— The terms knowingly and knows, with respect to conduct, a circumstance, or a result, means that a person has actual knowledge, or should have known, of the conduct, the circumstance, or the result.
United States person— The term United States person means—
any United States citizen or an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence to the United States;
an entity organized under the laws of the United States or of any jurisdiction within the United States (including any foreign branch of such an entity); or
any person in the United States.
Sec. 3 Prioritization of identification of persons from the People's Republic of China
Section 7211 of the Fentanyl Sanctions Act (21 U.S.C. 2311) is amended—
in subsection (a)—
by redesignating paragraphs (3) and (4) as paragraphs (4) and (5), respectively; and
by inserting after paragraph (2) the following new paragraph (3):
“(3) Prioritization
“(A) In general—In preparing the report required by paragraph (1), the President shall prioritize the identification of persons of the People's Republic of China involved in the shipment of fentanyl, fentanyl analogues, fentanyl precursors, precursors for fentanyl analogues, pre-precursors for fentanyl and fentanyl analogues, and equipment for the manufacturing of fentanyl and fentanyl-laced counterfeit pills to Mexico or any other country that is involved in the production of fentanyl that is trafficked into the United States, including—
“(i) any such entity involved in the production of pharmaceuticals; and
“(ii) any person that is acting on behalf of any such entity.
“(B) Termination of prioritization
“(i) The President shall continue the prioritization described in subparagraph (A) until the People’s Republic of China is no longer the primary source for the shipment of fentanyl, fentanyl analogues, fentanyl precursors, precursors for fentanyl analogues, pre-precursors for fentanyl and fentanyl analogues, and equipment for the manufacturing of fentanyl and fentanyl-laced counterfeit pills to Mexico or any other country that is involved in the production of fentanyl that is trafficked into the United States; and
“(ii) the President so certifies to the appropriate congressional committees.
“(C) Person of the People's Republic of China defined—In this section, the term person of the People's Republic of China means—
“(i) an individual who is a citizen or national of the People's Republic of China; or
“(ii) an entity organized under the laws of the People's Republic of China or otherwise subject to the jurisdiction of the Government of the People's Republic of China.”
in subsection (c), by striking “the date that is 5 years after such date of enactment” and inserting “December 31, 2030”.
Sec. 4 Sanctions with respect to the People's Republic of China
In general— On and after the date that is 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the President is authorized to impose the sanction described in subsection (b) with respect to a foreign person if the President determines that the foreign person—
has engaged in, or attempted to engage in, activities or transactions in the People’s Republic of China, including in Hong Kong and Macau, or with respect to persons domiciled in, organized under the laws of, or with their principal place of business in such jurisdictions, that have contributed to, or pose a significant risk of contributing to, the international proliferation of illicit synthetic narcotics or the means of production of illicit synthetic narcotics;
has knowingly or with reckless disregard has received any property or interest in property that—
constitutes or is derived from proceeds of activities or transactions in the People’s Republic of China, including in Hong Kong and Macau, or with respect to persons domiciled in, organized under the laws of, or with their principal place of business in such jurisdictions, that have materially contributed to, or pose a significant risk of materially contributing to, the international proliferation of illicit synthetic narcotics or the means of production of illicit synthetic narcotics; or
was used or may have been intended to be used to commit or to facilitate activities or transactions in the People’s Republic of China, including in Hong Kong and Macau, or with respect to persons domiciled in, organized under the laws of, or with their principal place of business in such jurisdictions, that have materially contributed to, or pose a significant risk of materially contributing to, the international proliferation of illicit synthetic narcotics or the means of production of illicit synthetic narcotics;
is a port or ship owned or operated by the People's Republic of China that, knowingly or with reckless disregard, facilitates the shipment and transportation of illicit synthetic narcotics or precursors of illicit synthetic narcotics (including in such circumstances where those precursors are improperly labeled during the customs process);
is an entity of the People's Republic of China that produces illicit synthetic narcotics or their precursors and, knowingly or with reckless disregard, sells those precursors to persons involved in the proliferation of illicit synthetic narcotics;
is an online marketplace of the People's Republic of China that, knowingly or with reckless disregard, facilitates the sale of, exchange of, shipment of, transshipment of, conveyance of, or payment for illicit synthetic narcotics;
is a covered PRC government entity;
is an entity of the People's Republic of China that knowingly or with reckless disregard, provides material support related to illicit synthetic narcotics to a covered PRC government entity;
has established an entity that engages in, has engaged in, or is designed to engage in evading sanctions that would otherwise be imposed pursuant to this section; or
is acting directly or indirectly for or on behalf of a person referred to in paragraphs (1) through (8).
Sanction described—
In general— The sanction described in this subsection is the exercise of all of the powers granted to the President under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) to the extent necessary to block and prohibit all transactions in property and interests in property of a foreign person if such property or interests in property are in the United States, come within the United States, or are or come within the possession or control of a United States person.
Implementation— The President may exercise the authorities provided to the President under sections 203 and 205 of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1702 and 1704) to the extent necessary to carry out this section.
Penalties— The penalties provided for in subsections (b) and (c) of section 206 of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1705) shall apply to any person who violates, attempts to violate, conspires to violate, or causes a violation of any prohibition of this section, or an order or regulation prescribed under this section, to the same extent that such penalties apply to a person that commits an unlawful act described in subsection section 206(a) of such Act (50 U.S.C. 1705(a)).
Exceptions—
Exception relating to importation of goods—
In general— The authorities and requirements to impose sanctions authorized under this section shall not include the authority or a requirement to impose sanctions on the importation of goods.
Good defined— In this paragraph, the term good means any article, natural or man-made substance, material, supply or manufactured product, including inspection and test equipment, and excluding technical data.
Exception for intelligence and law enforcement actions— Sanctions under this section shall not apply with respect to—
any activity subject to the reporting requirements under title V of the National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3091 et seq.); or
any authorized intelligence or law enforcement activities of the United States.
Requests by appropriate congressional committees—
In general— Not later than 120 days after receiving a request that meets the requirements of paragraph (2) with respect to whether a foreign person has engaged in an activity described in subsection (a), the President shall—
determine if that person has engaged in such an activity; and
submit a classified or unclassified report to the chairperson and ranking member of the committee or committees that submitted the request with respect to that determination that includes—
a statement of whether or not the President imposed or intends to impose sanctions with respect to the person; and
if the President imposed or intends to impose sanctions, a description of those sanctions.
Requirements— A request under paragraph (1) with respect to whether a foreign person has engaged in an activity described in subsection (a) shall be submitted to the President in writing jointly by the chairperson and ranking member of one of the appropriate congressional committees.
Definitions— In this section:
Appropriate congressional committees— The term appropriate congressional committees means—
the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs; and
the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Select Committee on Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party of the House of Representatives.
Covered PRC government entity— The term covered PRC government entity includes—
the Government of the People's Republic of China, a government official of the People's Republic of China, or any entity or instrumentality thereof, that is identified by the United States Government as knowingly or recklessly facilitating the flow of illicit synthetic narcotics into the United States or otherwise providing material support to a foreign person described in subsection (a);
any subsidiary, affiliate, or successor of an entity described in subparagraph (A); and
any person owned or controlled by, or that provides material support to or for, or receives materially support from an entity described in subparagraph (A).
Illicit synthetic narcotics— The term illicit synthetic narcotics means—
controlled substances, as that term is defined in section 102(6) of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 802(6)), with the exception of—
substances of natural origins; and
medications that are lawful under the laws of the United States and the Drug Enforcement Administration has provided an import permit to the importing organization for the import of such medication;
listed chemicals, as that term is defined in section 102(33) of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 802(33)); and
active pharmaceutical ingredients or chemicals that are used in the production of controlled substances described in subparagraphs (A) and (B).
Sec. 5 Sanctions with respect to significant fentanyl trafficking organizations
In general— United States sanctions imposed on the transnational criminal organizations listed in subsection (b) provided for in the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act (21 U.S.C. 1901 et seq.), as in effect on the date of the enactment of this Act, shall remain in effect except as provided in subsection (c).
Transnational criminal organizations— The transnational criminal organizations listed in this subsection are the following:
The Sinaloa Cartel.
The Jalisco New Generation Cartel.
The Gulf Cartel.
The Los Zetas Cartel.
The Juarez Cartel.
The Tijuana Cartel.
The Beltran-Leyva Cartel.
La Familia Michoacana.
Termination of certain sanctions— The President may terminate the application of any sanctions described in subsection (a) with respect to any transnational criminal organization listed in subsection (b) if the President submits to the appropriate congressional committees a notice that such transnational criminal organization is not engaging in the activity that was the basis for such sanctions.
Appropriate congressional committees defined— In this section, the term appropriate congressional committees means—
the Committee on Foreign Relations and the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate; and
the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on Financial Services of the House of Representatives.
Sec. 6 Imposition of sanctions with respect to foreign persons involved in global illicit drug trade
In general— The President may impose any of the sanctions described in subsection (b) with respect to any foreign person determined by the President—
to have engaged in, or attempted to engage in, activities or transactions that have materially contributed to the international trafficking of illicit drugs or their means of production;
to have knowingly received any property or interest in property that the foreign person knows—
constitutes or is derived from proceeds of activities or transactions described in paragraph (1); or
was used or intended to be used to commit or to facilitate such activities or transactions; or
to be a leader or official of any sanctioned person or of any foreign person that has engaged in any activity or transaction described in paragraph (1).
Sanctions described— The sanctions described in this subsection are the following:
Blocking of property— The President may, pursuant to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.), block and prohibit all transactions in property and interests in property of the sanctioned person if such property and interests in property are in the United States, come within the United States, or are or come within the possession or control of a United States person.
Banking transactions— The President may prohibit any transfers of credit or payments between financial institutions or by, through, or to any financial institution, to the extent that such transfers or payments are subject to the jurisdiction of the United States and involve any interest of the sanctioned person.
Loans from United States financial institutions— The President may prohibit any United States financial institution from making loans or providing credit to the sanctioned person.
Foreign exchange transactions— The President may prohibit any transactions in foreign exchange that are subject to the jurisdiction of the United States and in which the sanctioned person has any interest.
Prohibition on investment in equity or debt of sanctioned person— The President may prohibit any United States person from investing in or purchasing significant amounts of equity or debt instruments of the sanctioned person.
Prohibitions on financial institutions— The President may direct that the following prohibitions be imposed with respect to a sanctioned person that is a financial institution:
Prohibition on designation as primary dealer— Neither the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System nor the Federal Reserve Bank of New York may designate, or permit the continuation of any prior designation of, the financial institution as a primary dealer in United States Government debt instruments.
Prohibition on service as a repository of government funds— The financial institution may not serve as agent of the United States Government or serve as repository for United States Government funds.
Procurement ban— The President may direct that the United States Government may not procure, or enter into any contract for the procurement of, any goods or services from the sanctioned person.
Barring of corporate officers— The President may direct the Secretary of State to deny a visa to, and the Secretary of Homeland Security to bar from the United States, any alien that the President determines is a leader, official, senior executive officer, or director of, or a shareholder with a controlling interest in, the sanctioned person.
Sanctions on principal executive officers— The President may impose on the principal executive officer or officers of the sanctioned person, or on individuals performing similar functions and with similar authorities as such officer or officers, any of the sanctions described in paragraphs (1) through (8) that are applicable.
Inadmissibility of certain sanctioned persons—
Visas, admission, or parole— Except as provided by paragraph (3), an alien with respect to whom the President imposed sanctions under paragraph (1) or (8) of subsection (b) shall be—
inadmissible to the United States;
ineligible to receive a visa or other documentation to enter the United States; and
otherwise ineligible to be admitted or paroled into the United States or to receive any other benefit under the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.).
Current visas revoked—
In general— The visa or other entry documentation of any alien described in paragraph (1) is subject to revocation regardless of the date on which the visa or other entry documentation is or was issued.
Immediate effect— A revocation under subparagraph (A) shall—
take effect immediately; and
cancel any other valid visa or entry documentation that is in the possession of the alien.
Exceptions— Paragraphs (1) and (2) shall not apply with respect to the admission of an alien described in paragraph (1) if the President determines that the admission of the alien would not be contrary to the interests of the United States, including if the Secretary of State or the Secretary of Homeland Security, as appropriate, determines, based on a recommendation of the Attorney General, that the admission of the alien would further important United States law enforcement objectives.
Implementation— The President may exercise all authorities provided under sections 203 and 205 of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1702 and 1704) to carry out this section.
Termination—
In general— Any sanctions imposed with respect to a foreign person pursuant to this section shall terminate on the date that is 6 years after the date on which the sanction were imposed.
Waiver—
In general— The President may waive the termination of sanctions under paragraph (1) if the President certifies to Congress, not later than 30 days before the termination of such sanctions, that the continuation of such sanctions is vital to the national security interests of the United States.
Renewal of waiver— The President may, on a case-by-case basis, renew a waiver issued under subparagraph (A) for additional periods of not more than 2 years each, for an indefinite number of periods, if the President, prior to each such renewal, certifies to Congress that the renewal is vital to the national security interests of the United States.
Exceptions—
Exception relating to importation of goods—
In general— The authorities and requirements to impose sanctions authorized under this section shall not include the authority or a requirement to impose sanctions on the importation of goods.
Good defined— In this paragraph, the term good means any article, natural or man-made substance, material, supply or manufactured product, including inspection and test equipment, and excluding technical data.
Exception for intelligence and law enforcement actions— Sanctions under this section shall not apply with respect to—
any activity subject to the reporting requirements under title V of the National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3091 et seq.); or
any authorized intelligence or law enforcement activities of the United States.
Definitions— In this section:
Entity— The term entity means a partnership, association, trust, joint venture, corporation, group, subgroup, or other organization.
Financial institution— The term financial institution includes—
a depository institution (as defined in section 3(c)(1) of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act (12 U.S.C. 1813(c)(1))), including a branch or agency of a foreign bank (as defined in section 1(b)(7) of the International Banking Act of 1978 (12 U.S.C. 3101(7)));
a credit union;
a securities firm, including a broker or dealer;
an insurance company, including an agency or underwriter; and
any other entity that provides financial services.
Means of production— The terms means of production includes any activities or transactions involving any equipment, chemical, product, or material that may be used, directly or indirectly, in the manufacture of illicit drugs or precursor chemicals.
Proliferation of illicit drugs— The term proliferation of illicit drugs means any illicit activity to produce, manufacture, distribute, sell, or knowingly finance or transport narcotic drugs, controlled substances, listed chemicals, or controlled substance analogues, as defined in section 102 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 802).
Sanctioned person— The term sanctioned person means any person with respect to which sanctions are imposed under this section.
United States financial institution— The term United States financial institution means a financial institution (including its foreign branches)—
organized under the laws of the United States or of any jurisdiction within the United States; or
located in the United States.