ISTANBUL

US President Donald Trump on Monday said that China has agreed to stop fentanyl trade to the US amid mounting pressure to address the opioid crisis.

"We’re charging them a 20% tariff for the fact that they send fentanyl into our country, and they’ve agreed that they’re going to stop that," Trump said during a press conference at the White House.

"And they will be rewarded by not having to pay hundreds of billions of dollars in tariffs," he added.

Trump has been accusing China, along with Canada and Mexico, of fentanyl trafficking into the US.

He imposed 20% tariffs on China, citing the flow of drugs, particularly fentanyl, into the country.

Washington stated that the tariffs would remain in effect until the affected countries “cooperate fully” with the US in combating drug trafficking.

Trump previously blamed China for manufacturing and supplying a large percentage of the drugs, which he claimed have contributed to more than 100,000 deaths last year.