President Donald Trump has banned chemicals used as precursors to manufacture fentanyl, and China has agreed to control seven subsidiaries used to produce the lethal drug, FBI Director Kash Patel said Wednesday.
Opening the White House press briefing, Patel called the agreement between the U.S. and China a "historic, first-of-its-kind achievement" that effectively "shut off the pipeline that creates fentanyl."
He credited Trump's direct engagement with Chinese President Xi Jinping and a months-long, whole-of-government push led by Attorney General Pam Bondi, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and U.S. Ambassador David Perdue.
Patel said his trip to Beijing last week, the first by an FBI director in more than a decade, secured China's formal commitment to list and control fentanyl precursors and to regulate seven chemical subsidiaries tied to illicit production.
"Effective immediately, these are now banned substances," Patel said, adding that the move will "suffocate the ability to manufacture fentanyl in places like Mexico" and save "tens of thousands of lives."
Patel framed the breakthrough within a grim national backdrop: roughly 100,000 Americans died from fentanyl overdoses last year, he said.
Since Trump took office, the FBI has seized 19 kilograms of fentanyl this year — a 31% increase over the same period last year — "enough to kill 127 million Americans," Patel noted, underscoring how little of the ultra-potent drug it takes to devastate communities.
According to Patel, the new controls target the chemicals that cartels and transnational criminal organizations use to synthesize fentanyl.
By banning the precursors at the source and pressing Beijing to police its own companies, the administration believes it can cut the supply chain before the poison ever reaches U.S. streets.
Patel praised the "unprecedented" cooperation he received at China's Ministry of Public Security headquarters, where he said officials "committed fully" to the enforcement plan.
The policy also reflects Trump's broader doctrine: pressure adversaries, empower U.S. law enforcement, and put American victims first.
Patel emphasized that the outcome would not have been possible without Trump's personal diplomacy.
"This is another example of how President Trump defends the American people, provides security for the American people, and puts the American people first," he said.
Law-and-order advocates hailed the development as overdue accountability for China-based suppliers that have fueled the fentanyl epidemic.
Cutting off precursor flows has long been a top demand of sheriffs, border agents, and grieving families who argue that cartel profits depend on chemical shipments originating overseas.
With Wednesday's announcement, the administration is moving beyond seizures at the border to a more strategic choke point: the chemical feedstock.
Patel signaled that Wednesday's action is not the end, but the beginning of an aggressive new phase.
The FBI, Justice Department, and State Department will monitor Chinese compliance, pursue sanctions and criminal charges where warranted, and keep up pressure on cartels exploiting weak enforcement in the Western Hemisphere.
"We will fearlessly follow in [the president's] footsteps to ensure safeguarding the American public is achieved every single day," Patel said.
Newsmax Wires contributed to this report.
Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.
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