On Monday, U.S. President Donald Trump introduced new restrictions on a type of biological research his administration claims triggered the Covid-19 pandemic through a lab leak in China.
The U.S. will stop funding certain “gain-of-function” experiments—research that enhances the properties of pathogens—in specific countries, according to an executive order signed by Trump at the White House.
U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. stated on X, “No lab is leak-proof. This order aims to prevent future accidental leaks that could threaten humanity.”
Jay Bhattacharya, head of the U.S. National Institutes of Health, added, “Countries conducting this research put their own people and the global community at risk, as we saw with Covid.”
Trump has consistently supported the theory that the SARS-CoV-2 virus escaped from China’s Wuhan Institute of Virology due to gain-of-function research, contrasting with the view that the virus naturally transferred from animals to humans at a Wuhan market.
The U.S. government’s Covid.gov website, once focused on vaccines and testing, now promotes arguments supporting the lab-leak theory.
Several U.S. agencies, including the FBI, Department of Energy, and recently the CIA (which shifted its position under Trump’s second term), now lean toward a lab origin, while others still support a natural spillover.
In the 2010s, the U.S. National Institutes of Health funded bat coronavirus research at the Wuhan Institute through EcoHealth Alliance, a U.S.-based nonprofit. Trump cancelled this grant in 2020, though it was partially reinstated under President Joe Biden.
The definition of gain-of-function research remains contentious. Former U.S. health official Anthony Fauci has argued the Wuhan work didn’t meet the U.S. definition, but some virologists and officials disagree.
Trump’s order highlights China as a “country of concern” where such research should not be funded. It also seeks to halt U.S. support for other life sciences research in nations with inadequate oversight, potentially affecting a wide range of international projects.
The order further aims to regulate gain-of-function research within the U.S. that lacks federal funding, though the government’s authority over private research is uncertain. It calls for new laws to address any gaps.
For New Zealand, this development raises questions about global biosecurity and research collaboration. Kiwi scientists and policymakers may need to navigate tighter U.S. funding rules, especially for projects involving pathogens. Biosecurity New Zealand, which oversees lab safety, could face increased scrutiny as global standards evolve.
Trump’s move is part of broader changes to U.S. science and health policy, including significant cuts to research budgets and the dismissal of government scientists, which could influence international research partnerships, including those with New Zealand.
