OFAC sanctions Chinese entities under Fentanyl Sanctions Act

On Mar. 21, 2025, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated six Chinese chemical firms as “blocked persons,” freezing any U.S. assets they own to disrupt upstream fentanyl supply chains (Treasury press release, https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy3055).

OFAC estimates the targeted network moves approximately 40 metric tons of opioid precursor chemicals each year—enough to yield billions of lethal doses—which underpins the urgency of the designations (Treasury press release, https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy3055).

The sanctions rely on authority granted by the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) and were signed by OFAC Director Bradley Smith; under the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act, OFAC can impose a civil-penalty maximum of $330,947 per violation (CRS IEEPA primer, https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/LSB/LSB10933; Treasury leadership page, https://home.treasury.gov/about/offices; OFAC penalty guidelines, https://ofac.treasury.gov/media/7066/download).