New Delhi, September 18: US President Donald Trump has placed 23 countries, including India, Pakistan, China, Afghanistan, and Colombia, on the annual list of “major drug-transit or major illicit drug-producing countries.” The determination, submitted to Congress, underscores Washington’s concern over the global surge in narcotics and chemical precursors fuelling a domestic health crisis.
The US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) estimates that more than 107,000 Americans died of drug overdoses in 2024, with fentanyl and other synthetic opioids driving nearly 70% of these deaths. Trump’s report highlights the role of precursor chemicals notably acetic anhydride, pseudoephedrine, and ephedrine which are diverted into the manufacture of heroin, methamphetamine, and fentanyl analogues. Countries such as China are named as the largest suppliers, while Afghanistan, Myanmar, and Colombia are cited for large-scale cultivation of opium and coca.
India and Pakistan feature primarily as transit and precursor hubs. India has a regulated but extensive pharmaceutical and chemical industry, which Washington fears could be misused for illicit synthesis. Pakistan, meanwhile, remains a corridor for Afghan heroin flows into the Gulf and Europe.
Analysts argue the designation has dual implications: domestically, it arms Washington with leverage to intensify bilateral counter-narcotics cooperation; geopolitically, it pressures India to tighten precursor regulation even as it balances diplomatic sensitivities. For South Asia, the listing reinforces long-standing perceptions of vulnerability to the opium–synthetic drug economy, with potential consequences for regional stability and India-US engagement in security dialogues.
