United Against Fentanyl Urges President Trump to Stop "Deadly Deliveries" by Ending Uninspected Shipments From China

With over three million packages arriving in the U.S. from China daily, CEO Paul Martin says, "These deadly deliveries must stop now."

NEWPORT BEACH, CA, UNITED STATES, March 10, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- United Against Fentanyl (UAF) has called on President Donald Trump to take decisive action to close the de minimis loophole, which allows millions of packages to enter the U.S. daily without inspection. Many of these shipments contain illicit fentanyl and its precursor chemicals. In a letter to the President, UAF joined the Coalition to Close the De Minimis Loophole, representing a wide range of American voices and millions of people committed to ending the de fentnayl crisis, including families of victims, manufacturers, business associations, labor unions, law enforcement, and consumer groups.

Founded in 2024, United Against Fentanyl is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that interrupts the use of illicit fentanyl through innovative, bold, and effective initiatives, including its inaugural Walk for Lives campaign on September 20th in cities across the United States. UAF leadership includes recognized experts from foreign policy, law enforcement, public health, medicine, social media, investigative journalism, business, and entertainment. UAF represents hundreds of families who have lost loved ones to illicit fentanyl.

The letter to President Trump includes the following: "We write to ask you to reimpose your proposed ban on duty-free de minimis treatment for goods from China and to use your existing executive authority granted to the president by Congress in the Tariff Act of 1930 to end de minimis for all commercial shipments from all countries."

Under the current de minimis trade provision (in federal law known as Section 321), packages valued under $800 can enter the country without inspection, creating a significant vulnerability that drug traffickers have exploited to flood American communities with lethal fentanyl. Experts and advocates argue that shutting down this loophole is critical in preventing further fentanyl-related deaths. On February 1, President Trump issued an executive order, making imports from China ineligible for de minimis treatment; a few days later, the President issued another executive order that reinstated de minimis for imports.

Paul Martin, Chief Executive Officer of United Against Fentanyl, emphasized the urgency of this issue, stating, “Every day this loophole remains open, poisonous fentanyl can easily make its way into our country and be delivered to people's doorstep, hence continuing to kill innocent people and devastate families. Hundreds of thousands of young Americans have died from the Chinese government's complicity, which, in my view, is yet another example of human rights violations by Beijing. We can save innocent lives by ending this loophole, starting today."

Ray Donovan, former Chief of Operations for the Drug Enforcement Administration and UAF Advisory Board Member, said, "The de minimis exemption has become a dangerous loophole fueling fentanyl trafficking and devastating communities across America. With over 1 billion de minimis shipments entering the U.S. annually, many are unchecked. Criminal networks exploit this system to flood our streets with illicit drugs. Customs and Border Patrol’s proposed regulatory changes are a step in the right direction, but more must be done to close this gateway for drug traffickers. Every day of inaction means more lives lost to fentanyl poisoning. Congress and the administration must act swiftly to tighten enforcement, increase oversight, and shut down this deadly pipeline before more families are torn apart."

According to Customs and Border Patrol, imports from China using the de minimis loophole include “high-risk shipments that may contain narcotics, merchandise that pose a risk to public safety, counterfeits, or other contraband.”

While publicly expressing optimism about President Trump's efforts to combat the fentanyl crisis, especially concerning the Mexican cartels, Martin also stressed that more must be done: "Approximately 200 Americans are overdosing or being poisoned every single day, mostly teens and young adults. I am optimistic about the bold measures being taken by President Trump. Still, with nearly four million uninspected packages entering the U.S. each day from China, we must not stop until these deadly deliveries end."

Through its Walk for Lives campaign, which Martin has deemed a "solution" to the fentanyl crisis, UAF is working to educate the tens of thousands of participants on the dangers of ordering products directly from China and of the "dangerous deliveries" through the de minimis loophole.

UAF Press
United Against Fentanyl
press@unitedagainstfentanyl.org

The Fentanyl/China Threat with Paul Martin and Ray Donovan