Cooperation, not tariffs, way to solve fentanyl issue

More than 450,000 Americans have died of synthetic opioid overdoses over the past decade, with millions more addicted. US President Donald Trump has made ending the country's fentanyl crisis a top priority for his administration.

On Wednesday, he officially signed the HALT Fentanyl Act into law — permanently classifying fentanyl-related substances as a Schedule I drug under the Controlled Substances Act.

Before he signed the act in the White House, surrounded by families who have lost loved ones to the scourge of fentanyl, Trump mentioned China, though not in the customary accusatory way.