President Trump (Trump) raises his fist as he leaves on the South Lawn of the White House on Dec. 5, 2020.
U.S. President Donald Trump (Trump) signed a new memo Thursday (Jan. 14) to strengthen efforts to ensure that U.S. government-backed research and development (R&D) is free from interference and exploitation by foreign powers.
The memo was signed a day after Meyya Meyyappan, a senior NASA scientist, pleaded guilty in court to participating in the Chinese Communist Party’s “Thousand Talents Program,” which, according to the Justice Department, was designed to harvest talent from the West and transfer intellectual property to China. In addition, Meyyappan served as a professor at universities in China, South Korea and Japan, but he did not disclose those jobs to NASA or the U.S. Government Ethics Office.
The memo reads, “To ensure that government-supported research can be conducted in an open environment that promotes new discoveries that benefit our nation, while also protecting intellectual capital, deterring misappropriation of research funds, and ensuring that U.S. taxpayer dollars are managed responsibly.”
A White House press secretary said Thursday that President Trump’s newly signed memo aims to strengthen protections for U.S. research and development and maintain the country’s leadership in science and technology, given the openness and collaboration of U.S. R&D efforts and given its importance to national security and keeping the nation’s economy competitive.
“In an era of great power competition, where the United States must maintain world leadership in science and technology, today’s signing builds on the long, successful history of President Trump’s actions to protect American technology from adversaries.”
The White House press secretary added, “This whole-of-government (whole-of-government) approach to R&D security will protect America’s technological and innovative edge. Whether it’s in trade, military cooperation or science and technology research, President Trump refuses to let other countries take advantage of the United States.”
Trump included R&D in 2017 as a key dimension of a new national security strategy that addresses key challenges affecting America’s place in the world, including the use of “technology, propaganda and coercion by major powers like China (Communist Party of China) and Russia to shape a world that is at odds with our interests and values.”
In a December 2017 statement, the White House said, “To succeed in 21st century geopolitical competition, the United States must lead in research, technology, and innovation, and we will protect the national security innovation base from those who steal our intellectual property and unfairly exploit innovation in a free society. “
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