Trump praises PM Modi’s opium crackdown, but India stays on US drug transit list

The US president also said Washington would continue working with New Delhi on counter-narcotics efforts (File photo)US President Donald Trump on Wednesday welcomed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s efforts to curb illicit opium poppy cultivation in India, even as Washington included India among 23 countries designated as major drug transit or illicit drug-producing countries.In a Presidential Determination submitted to the US Congress, Trump said he looked forward to continued cooperation with India under the United States-India Drug Policy Framework. “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 the directive made public on Wednesday.India’s inclusion on the list does not, however, amount to a US finding that its government is failing to tackle the drug trade. The determination said countries are designated because of a combination of geographic, commercial and economic factors that allow illicit drugs or precursor chemicals to be produced or moved through their territory.The US document specifically noted that being placed on the list does not necessarily reflect a country’s current counterdrug efforts or the extent of its cooperation with Washington.Along with India, the countries identified by the US include Afghanistan, The Bahamas, Belize, Bolivia, Burma, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Laos, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Pakistan, Peru, Venezuela and China.The designation comes as Washington continues to focus on disrupting international drug supply chains, including the movement of precursor chemicals used to manufacture synthetic drugs. The White House’s 2026 National Drug Control Strategy has also called for stronger bilateral counterdrug cooperation with countries including India.Trump highlights US-India cooperationTrump said the US and India would continue working together on counter-narcotics efforts. The two countries established a Drug Policy Executive Working Group earlier this year, with discussions focused on illicit narcotics trafficking, precursor chemicals and the security of pharmaceutical supply chains.The US president also pointed to what he described as “historic progress” by his administration in tackling drug trafficking and narcoterrorist organisations.He cited tighter border security, lower drug seizures and a decline in overdose deaths as evidence of progress, saying seizures of fentanyl and other drugs along the US southern border had fallen by more than half after what he called four years of “open border chaos”.“After four years of open border chaos, seizures of fentanyl and other drugs being smuggled into the United States have been reduced by more than half, and drug overdose deaths have plunged,” Trump said.Trump presses China over drug precursorsTrump separately called on China to take stronger action against the flow of precursor chemicals used to manufacture 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.He 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.The US has made disruption of precursor-chemical supply chains a central part of its broader counter-drug strategy, which calls for international cooperation to prevent legitimate trade channels from being exploited for illicit drug production.