US denies visas for Indian businessmen over fentanyl precursor trafficking

The US embassy in New Delhi has suspended and subsequently denied visas to Indian businessmen due to their suspected involvement in trafficking fentanyl precursors.

Fentanyl precursors refer to the basic or parent chemicals that form fentanyl, a leading cause of US overdose deaths.

The statement from the embassy did not name the people affected, but a spokesperson said they were Indian nationals.

Indian government officials have been closely cooperating with US counterparts to combat the challenge of drug trafficking, the US embassy added in its statement.

India's foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request from Reuters for comment on the US visa measures.

US President Donald Trump, whose punitive 50% tariffs on Indian imports hurt bilateral ties, has previously imposed additional levies on imports from China, Mexico and Canada, saying they facilitated the flow of fentanyl into the US.

In a statement to US Congress this week, Trump listed India as one of 23 major drug transit or illicit drug-producing countries, though he added the presence of any country on the list was not necessarily a reflection of its government's counter-drug efforts.