The White House said fentanyl related deaths and overall drug overdose fatalities continued to fall as the Trump administration hosts its inaugural Fentanyl Free America Summit this week.
The administration said the summit is bringing together partners from across the United States to discuss efforts to combat fentanyl trafficking and sustain recent progress against the synthetic opioid.
According to figures released by the White House, deaths involving synthetic opioids, including fentanyl, fell 22% from 48,913 in 2024 to 38,084 in 2025. Overall drug overdose deaths declined 14% from 81,313 to 69,973 over the same period.
The administration also said the United States recorded its lowest overall death rate in 2025, attributing part of that decline to fewer drug related fatalities.
The White House credited the reductions to a strategy combining border enforcement, action against transnational criminal organisations, and measures targeting foreign suppliers of fentanyl and its precursor chemicals.
Among the actions highlighted were the designation of groups including Tren de Aragua, MS 13 and the Sinaloa cartel as Foreign Terrorist Organizations and Specially Designated Global Terrorists, as well as the signing of the HALT Fentanyl Act, which permanently classifies fentanyl analogues as Schedule I controlled substances.
The administration also said it had designated illicit fentanyl and key precursor chemicals as weapons of mass destruction under its policy framework, expanded tariffs linked to fentanyl on China, Canada and Mexico, and ended the de minimis import exemption that it said had been used to ship fentanyl related products into the country.
The White House said U.S. military operations had targeted narcotics trafficking vessels in the Pacific and Caribbean, while nationwide fentanyl seizures fell 45% during fiscal year 2025 as supply routes were disrupted before drugs reached U.S. borders.
It also cited Drug Enforcement Administration testing that it said showed 29% of seized fentanyl pills contained a potentially lethal dose, compared with 76% two years earlier.
