US Capitol Building West Side by Martin Falbisoner is licensed under CC 3.0
On January 13, 2026 the Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee Chairman Adrian Smith held a hearing on maintaining American innovation and technology leadership. The chairman and speakers affirmed throughout the meeting the intention of the trade subcommittee to address and eliminate discriminatory regulatory actions from foreign nations.
The hearing covered digital trade barriers, IP rights, and foreign market competition policies.
In his opening remarks the chairman spoke against the Biden administration’s attitude towards American innovation. Under the Biden administration American innovation was insufficiently protected from foreign discriminatory action. Chairman Smith rightly determined that such practices harm U.S. innovators and hinder America’s ability to retain IP and innovation demand.
The Chairman praised efforts by President Trump to incentivize creativity and development through revitalizing innovation and competition. Chairman Smith correctly affirmed that America will continue to remain a step behind global competition without incentives to innovate.
Chairman Smith also warned that many of our trading partners lack innovation-friendly rules leading them to impose measures aimed at undermining American companies for their own gain. Chairman Smith praises the Trump administration for obtaining commitments related to intellectual property and digital trade, undoing setbacks from the Biden administration and paving the way for U.S. leadership in emerging industries.
President trump has been proactive in defending American innovators and has taken a strong stance against trading partners that seek to undermine American businesses.
When we create an environment conducive to innovation, all sectors succeed.