,,ii  #aaith ,,congress  #ast ,session  
,s4 #cjhj  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,october #cj1  
#bjbe ,mr4 ,ricketts 7for himself1 ,mr4 
,schmitt1 and ,mr4 ,mc,cormick7         
introduced the following bill2 which was
 read twice and referred to the         
,committee on ,banking1 ,housing1 and   
,urban ,affairs  ,a ,,bill  ,to amend   
the ,fentanyl ,sanctions ,act to address
 nitazene trafficking and to impose     
sanctions with respect to entities of   
the ,people's ,republic of ,china and   
foreign governments engaged in or       
contributing to opioid trafficking1 and 
for other purposes4  #a4  ,short title  
,this ,act may be cited as the ,nitazene
 ,sanctions ,act4  #b4  ,findings       
,congress makes the following findings3 
7#a7 #b-;,benzylbenzimidazole opioids   
7also known as nitazenes7 are a class of
 synthetic opioids first synthesized in 
the #aiejs that exhibit significant     
potency at the mu-opioid receptor1 with 
some substances exceeding the potency of

 fentanyl4  7#b7 ,unlike opium1         
#b-;benzylbenzimidazole opioids and     
other synthetic opioids can be produced 
anywhere in the world using precursor   
chemicals that are often uncontrolled   
and widely available4  7#c7 ,chemical   
manufacturing companies in the ,people's
 ,republic of ,china can synthesize     
#b-;benzylbenzimidazole opioid          
precursors at a scale using a           
comparatively easy #c- or #d-step       
process4  7#d7 ,the ,drug ,enforcement  
,administration has warned that ,mexican
 cartels could use their existing       
relations with suppliers based in the   
,people's ,republic of ,china to obtain 
#b-;benzylbenzimidazole opioids and     
funnel them into the ,united ,states4   
#c4  ,strategy to combat production and 
flow of nitazene  7a7  ,in general  ,not
 later than #abj days after the date of 
the enactment of this ,act1 the         
,secretary of ,state and the ,attorney  
,general shall jointly submit to the    
appropriate committees of ,congress a   

report that includes--  7#a7 a          
description of the role of the ,people's
 ,republic of ,china1 and of financial  
institutions in the ,people's ,republic 
of ,china1 in the production of         
#b-;benzylbenzimidazole opioid          
precursors2  7#b7 a plan for steps to be
 taken by the ,united ,states           
,government to work with the ,people's  
,republic of ,china to reduce the       
production of such precursors in the    
,people's ,republic of ,china2 and  7#c7
 a strategy to work with allies in      
,europe to combat the flow of           
#b-;benzylbenzimidazole opioids from the
 ,people's ,republic of ,china4  7b7    
,form  ,the report required by          
subsection 7a7 shall be submitted in    
unclassified form1 but may include a    
classified annex4  7c7  ,appropriate    
committees of ,congress defined  ,in    
this section1 the term appropriate      
committees of ,congress means--  7#a7   
the ,committee on ,foreign ,relations   
and the ,committee on the ,judiciary of 

the ,senate2 and  7#b7 the ,committee on
 ,foreign ,affairs and the ,committee on
 the ,judiciary of the ,house of        
,representatives4  #d4  ,inclusion of   
nitazene in ,fentanyl ,sanctions ,act   
,section #gbjc7h77;,a7 of the ,fentanyl 
,sanctions ,act 7#ba ,u4,s4,c4          
#bcjb7h77;,a77 is amended--  7#a7 in    
clause 7i71 by striking controlled      
substances that are synthetic opioids   
and inserting #b-;benzylbenzimidazole   
opioids1 other controlled substances    
that are synthetic opioids12 and  7#b7  
in clause 7ii71 by striking controlled  
substances and inserting                
#b-;benzylbenzimidazole opioids and     
other controlled substances4  #e4       
,designation of certain entities of the 
,people's ,republic of ,china as foreign
 opioid traffickers under ,fentanyl     
,sanctions ,act  7a7  ,in general       
,section #gbjc7e7 of the ,fentanyl      
,sanctions ,act 7#ba ,u4,s4,c4 #bcjb7e77
 is amended--  7#a7 by striking ,the    
term foreign opioid trafficker means any

 foreign person and inserting the       
following3  ,the term foreign opioid    
trafficker-- 7,a7 means any foreign     
person  2  7#b7 by striking the period  
at the end and inserting 2 and2 and     
7#c7 by adding at the end the following3
  7,b7 includes-- 7i7 any entity of the 
,people's ,republic of ,china that the  
,president determines--  7,i7 produces1 
manufactures1 distributes1 sells1 or    
knowingly finances or transports any    
goods described in clause 7i7 or 7ii7 of
 paragraph 7#h77;,a72 and  7,,ii7 fails 
to take credible steps1 including       
through implementation of appropriate   
know-your-customer procedures or through
 cooperation with ,united ,states       
counternarcotics efforts1 to detect or  
prevent opioid trafficking2 and  7ii7   
any senior official of the ,government  
of the ,people's ,republic of ,china or 
other political official of the         
,people's ,republic of ,china that--    
7,i7 has significant regulatory or law  
enforcement responsibilities with       

respect to the activities of an entity  
described in clause 7i72 and  7,,ii7    
aids and abets1 including through       
intentional inaction1 opioid            
trafficking4  4  7b7  ,assessment of    
certain agencies of the ,people's       
,republic of ,china as foreign opioid   
traffickers  ,section #gbaa7;a77#a77;,a7
 of the ,fentanyl ,sanctions ,act 7#ba  
,u4,s4,c4 #bcaa7;a77#a77;,a77 is amended
 by adding at the end before the        
semicolon the following3 1 including    
whether the heads of the ,national      
,narcotics ,control ,commission1 the    
,ministry of ,public ,security1 the     
,general ,administration of ,customs1   
and the ,national ,medical ,products    
,administration of the ,government of   
the ,people's ,republic of ,china are   
foreign opioid traffickers4  #f4        
,imposition of sanctions with respect to
 foreign governments contributing to    
opioid trafficking  ,section #gbab of   
the ,fentanyl ,sanctions ,act 7#ba      
,u4,s4,c4 #bcab7 is amended--  7#a7 by  

striking ,the ,president and inserting  
the following3  7a7 ,foreign opioid     
traffickers ,the ,president  2 and  7#b7
 by adding at the end the following3    
7b7 ,foreign governments ,the ,president
 may impose one or more of the sanctions
 described in section #gbac with respect
 to each political subdivision1 agency1 
or instrumentality of a foreign         
government1 including any financial     
institution owned or controlled by a    
foreign government1 that the ,president 
determines has knowingly on or after the
 date of the enactment of the ,nitazene 
,sanctions ,act--  7#a7 engaged in a    
significant activity or a significant   
financial transaction that has          
materially contributed to opioid        
trafficking2  7#b7 provided support for 
industries involved in the development  
of precursors for synthetic opioids2 or 
7#c7 provided support for the transport 
of such precursors4  4  #g4 ,extension  
of ,fentanyl ,sanctions ,act ,section   
#gbaa7;c7 of the ,fentanyl ,sanctions   

,act 7#ba ,u4,s4,c4 #bcaa7;c77 is       
amended by striking #e years and        
inserting #aj years4