Trump praises India's opium crackdown, urges China to tighten drug controls

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government for efforts to curb illicit opium poppy cultivation and strengthen supply-chain security, while urging China to take stronger action to stem the flow of precursor chemicals used to produce fentanyl, methamphetamine and other synthetic drugs.

“I welcome Prime Minister Modi and the Government of India’s efforts to address illicit opium poppy cultivation and bolster supply chain integrity,” Trump said in a Presidential Determination on September 16, adding that he looked forward to continued cooperation through the United States-India Drug Policy Framework.

The remarks came after India was included in the US list of countries designated as major drug transit or major illicit drug-producing countries for fiscal year 2027.COUNTRIES ON US DRUG-PRODUCING LIST

The 23-country list, published on the US State Department website, includes China, Pakistan, India, Afghanistan, the Bahamas, Belize, Bolivia, Burma, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Laos, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru and Venezuela.

The Trump administration, however, clarified that being included on the list does not necessarily mean a country’s government is failing to combat drug trafficking or is not cooperating with the US on counter-narcotics efforts.

The statement said countries may be designated based on a combination of geographic, commercial and economic factors that enable drugs or precursor chemicals to be produced or transported through their territory, even when their governments are taking strong counter-narcotics and law-enforcement measures.

India was also not among the countries the US determined had “failed demonstrably” over the previous 12 months to meet their international counternarcotics obligations. That separate designation was given to Afghanistan, Bolivia, Burma and Colombia.TRUMP PRESSES CHINA TO CURB DRUG PRECURSORS

Trump's comments on India came alongside a sharper message for China, which the US president identified as the world's largest producer of many precursor chemicals used in the illicit production of fentanyl, methamphetamine and other synthetic drugs.

“The PRC continues to be the world’s largest producer of many of the precursor chemicals used to illicitly produce fentanyl, methamphetamine, and other deadly synthetic drugs,” Trump said, referring to China by its official designation, the People's Republic of China.

Trump said he had raised the issue directly with Chinese President Xi Jinping and noted that Beijing had introduced licensing requirements last year for companies exporting designated precursor chemicals to North America.

However, he said criminals continued to circumvent those controls by using unregulated precursor chemicals.

The US President then argued that greater cooperation would help enable the timely prosecution of people supplying drug traffickers with precursor chemicals.- EndsPublished By: Shipra ParasharPublished On: Sep 16, 2026 22:11 IST