Comment from Gareth Eaton

[200.202(e), 200.220] To Whom it May Concern: I am a professor of chemistry. I am writing in my personal capacity to oppose the proposed revisions to sections 200.202(e) and 200.220 that would restrict international scientific collaboration and isolate American scientists. China surpasses the US in many areas of science. I have had very good experience combining my focus with Japanese and Chinese coworkers. They prepared samples tat otherwise would not be available to me. I hoped to similarly build on Chinese expertise in lanthanides, an area of great interest to me, but the proposed rule appears to prevent me from exploiting their knowledge. We have built a philosophy of cooperation and collaboration. The new rules seems to say we fear our superiors. I have to cut myself off from colleagues with whom I have collaborated for years. In addition, I will not receive the top honor in my field because I cannot travel to the country where it is awarded. Most countries support science better than does the US. Until this proposed rule, our greatest hope was to get international collaborations to replace lack of US funding.