Comment from Alan Gaul

I am a US citizen and a postdoctoral scholar at a large university, and my research specialty is the Antarctic Ice Sheet and coastal waters. Gathering high quality observations across Antarctica is a logistical challenge due to Antarctica’s vastness, remoteness, hostile environment, and a frequent sea ice cover which impedes navigation. For decades, the solution to this challenge has been multinational collaborations to pool scarce resources and funding together, allowing successful data collection campaigns to happen This tradition of international collaboration in Antarctica is enshrined into Articles II and III of the Antarctic Treaty, of which the United States is a signatory of and, as such, is legally obligated to uphold. Provision §200.220 would interfere with the obligation of the United States to “promote international cooperation in scientific investigation in Antarctica” (Antarctic Treaty, Article III. For more information on the Antarctic Treaty, please see this website: https://www.ats.aq/e/antarctictreaty.html). This is because Provision §200.220 seeks “to prohibit the obligation or expenditure of Federal funds to support certain foreign collaborations involving covered foreign countries or covered foreign entities.” These foreign countries are defined in section 889 of Public Law 115-232 as China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea. China and Russia are signatories of the Antarctic Treaty and operate robust Antarctic research programs. Prohibiting US scientists from collaborating with Chinese and Russian Antarctic scientists and programs is not only contrary to the terms of the Antarctic Treaty, but it also hinders the ability of US researchers to collect data in Antarctica. As President Trump’s proposed FY 2026 budget cut funding to the USA’s only Antarctic research icebreaker, scientists in the United States are more reliant than ever on international partners to collect field observations. Barring US scientists from joining Chinese or Russian-led scientific expeditions, or even from joining expeditions led by a third party that happen to also include Chinese or Russian researchers, would vastly diminish the opportunities for US scientists to travel to Antarctica and collect observations. If the United States prohibits collaboration with fellow signatories of the Antarctic Treaty, it will break international law, lose out on scientific advancement, and cede polar knowledge and technological superiority to its geopolitical rivals.