Attorney General Jeff Sessions today issued the following statement on Chinese Narcotics Scheduling:

“The Trump Administration is fighting back against the opioid crisis, and the Department of Justice has taken a number of aggressive and innovative steps to combat many of the contributing factors to the havoc inflicted in our neighborhoods and communities across the country.

“However, full cooperation on an international level is required to eradicate the scourge of fentanyl and opioids from the world. In recent weeks, as the Justice Department announced multiple accomplishments in the fight against opioids, I expressed hope that China’s Ministry of Public Security would schedule fentanyl-based substances as a class.

“The Ministry of Public Security announced—effective September 1, 2018—the scheduling of 32 substances, including two opioids, as narcotics. This is an important step in the global fight against opioids and, by providing Chinese law enforcement additional tools, it affords our federal law enforcement authorities a greater opportunity to continue working on important joint investigations. I thank the Government of China for this action and I look forward to further cooperation.”