The administration of United States President Donald Trump criticized the World Health Organization's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, accusing the agency of bias toward China

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Tensions within the Make America Healthy Again movement increased after President Donald Trump issued an executive order in February 2026 to increase domestic production of the weed killer glyphosate

President Donald Trump nominated wellness influencer Dr. Casey Means for surgeon general, but her nomination was withdrawn after Senate confirmation stalled over concerns regarding her medical experience and vaccine stances

In an October 22, 2026 statement announcing his resignation, Calley Means, a senior adviser to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., expressed tremendous respect for President Donald Trump and Kennedy without stating a reason

Grassroots Make America Healthy Again activists and figures expressed discontent with the Trump administration's slow progress on regulating ultraprocessed foods and pesticides like glyphosate

The Wall Street Journal first reported Calley Means' resignation from his White House advisory post ahead of the 2026 midterm elections

Prior to joining the Trump administration as an adviser to Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Calley Means was the founder of Truemed and co-authored the 2024 book "Good Energy" with his sister Casey Means

The U.S. Treasury Department proposed adding biotechnology to the COINS Act list of sensitive restricted industries, alongside semiconductors, artificial intelligence, and quantum computing

Western pharmaceutical companies have invested tens of billions of dollars in Chinese biotechnology companies and licensing agreements to bolster their drug development pipelines

The U.S. Treasury Department cited national security concerns that American investments in Chinese biotech could be used to create biological weapons, develop brain-computer interfaces for surveillance, or cause U.S. supply chain overdependence

On October 22, 2026, the U.S. Treasury Department proposed updated rules for implementing the Comprehensive Outbound Investment National Security (COINS) Act of 2025 to restrict U.S. investment in the Chinese biotechnology sector

The U.S. Treasury Department's proposed COINS Act regulations would require U.S. investors to notify the government regarding certain biotech transactions in China and prohibit others entirely, subjecting violators to civil penalties and divestment

The U.S. Treasury Department's proposed restrictions cover equity interest acquisitions, debt financing, joint ventures, brain-computer interfaces, biomanufacturing equipment, and life sciences tools involving Chinese entities

While targeting direct equity acquisitions and joint ventures with Chinese biotech firms, the U.S. Treasury Department proposal does not explicitly prohibit intellectual property licensing deals commonly conducted by Western pharmaceutical companies

Raymond James analyst Chris Meekins evaluated the proposed U.S. Treasury rule and stated that intellectual property licensing deals between U.S. pharmaceutical companies and Chinese biotechs will likely remain permissible

The U.S. Treasury Department proposal defines prohibited biotech technologies to include small molecules, polymers, vaccines, blood components, allergenics, cell and gene therapies, and monoclonal antibodies or other recombinant therapeutic proteins

The U.S. Treasury Department stated that its proposed biotech rules seek to balance national security protection against potential countervailing public health risks or harm to U.S. commercial competitiveness

National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology Executive Director Caitlin Frazer called the U.S. Treasury Department's proposal a prudent step toward retaining and regaining American leadership in biotechnology

Biotechnology Innovation Organization CEO John Crowley stated that policies must maintain U.S. biotechnology leadership and warned against an overly broad rule that creates investor uncertainty or weakens American competitiveness

China halted poultry imports from Rio Grande do Sul following a 2024 Newcastle disease detection before lifting the restriction earlier in 2026

Meat industry group ABPA stated that the Brazil-China trade protocol triggers an auto-embargo on poultry shipments following a Newcastle disease outbreak before Chinese authorities decide whether restrictions apply to an entire state or limited farm area