Sawt Falasteen - US Treasury chief seeks to step up fentanyl fight in Mexico trip

The synthetic opioid has caused tens of thousands of deaths in the United States, with US President Joe Biden and Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador pledging last month to work together to tackle the crisis.

"We're meeting with a number of the entities in Mexico that are providing us with information," Yellen told reporters at the start of her three-day visit, which ends on Thursday.

She noted that these entities have been "increasingly helpful" when it comes to tracing financial flows tied to the drug.

The United States will also be announcing further action Wednesday to crack down on fentanyl, she said.

Yellen is due to meet central bank governor Victoria Rodriguez and host a discussion on illicit finance with financial institution leaders and members of the Mexican Banking Association.

"We have authorities now that I think make it easier for us to go after middlemen who are not actually trading fentanyl itself, but goods like pill presses and pharmaceuticals that aren't export controlled," Yellen said of the US approach to tackling supply lines.

Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed after a meeting last month that China would crack down on precursor chemicals to fentanyl.

The United States is renewing a push to shift supply chains towards its trusted partners, as it seeks greater stability amid economic and geopolitical tensions with China.

Yellen will also meet Mexican business executives on Wednesday.

Among issues that could come up during the trip include strengthening Mexico's investment regime, to ensure investment in the country "doesn't become a channel for threats to US national security," Yellen told reporters.

Yellen is expected to meet President Lopez Obrador and Finance Minister Rogelio Ramirez de la O on Thursday.

P.Tamimi--SF-PST