US Commerce Dept removes Chinese agency from entity list

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Commerce Department said on Thursday it has removed the Chinese Ministry of Public Security’s Institute of Forensic Science from its entity list in a bid to convince Beijing to step up cooperation to halt the flow of the synthetic opioid fentanyl in the United States.

Washington put the institute on the list in 2020 over alleged abuses toward Uyghurs and other minority groups, effectively barring it from receiving U.S. exports. China has long questioned why the U.S. would expect cooperation on fentanyl while targeting the institute.

The removal, according to a notice posted in the Federal Register, came after a “removal proposal” was received and reviewed, the department said in the posting, by a committee composed of representatives of the departments of Commerce, State, Defense, Energy, and sometimes, the Treasury.

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