Washington DC : US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order for overseas arms sales, directing the United States government to prioritise weapons sales and transfers to countries that have invested in their own defence and contribute to the US' economic security. Trump described it as "America First Arms Transfer Strategy".
"The United States will prioritize arms sales and transfers to partners that have invested in their own self-defence and capabilities, have a critical role or geography in United States plans and operations, or contribute to our economic security," the document said.
It also said that the strategy seeks to strengthen the US defence industrial base to ensure that it has the capacity to support the U.S. military and its allies and partners. The executive order was an attempt to lay out a new framework for arms exports. It stresses that American-made military equipment should be used more deliberately as a tool of foreign policy and with the intent to strengthen domestic industrial capacity.
"American-manufactured military equipment is the best in the world, resulting in American dominance across international defence exports," the order said. "It is critical that the United States fully use this comparative advantage in arms transfers as both a tool of foreign policy and a tool to expand domestic production and transfer."
The order states that the strategy is meant to ensure that arms sales "prioritise American interests by using foreign purchases and capital to build American production and capacity". It adds that this approach will help US advance "a technologically superior, ready, and resilient national security industrial enterprise".
Under the new policy, the United States will "intentionally use arms transfers as a tool of American foreign policy" while also expanding "strategically relevant industrial production capacity in the United States".
A key provision of the order says that the US will give preference to partners that shoulder more of their own defence burden. It states that, consistent with a previous executive order, "the United States will prioritize arms sales and transfers to partners that have invested in their own self-defence and capabilities, have a critical role or geography in United States plans and operations, or contribute to our economic security."
The order also links arms exports to strengthening the US defence industrial base. It says, "The United States will use foreign purchases and capital to support domestic reindustrialisation, expand production capacity, and improve the resilience of the United States defence industrial base."
It further notes that arms sales should not add pressure to existing supply chains or affect US military readiness. According to the order, arms transfers will support acquisition and sustainment efforts, including by building critical supply chain resilience and avoiding adding to backlogs on priority components and end-items that impact the United States or ally and partners' readiness.
The executive order assigns multiple responsibilities to senior cabinet officials. Within 120 days, the Secretary of War, in coordination with the Secretaries of State and Commerce, is required to submit a sales catalogue of "prioritised platforms and systems that the United States shall encourage our allies and partners to acquire". The catalogue will be based on criteria laid out in the new strategy.
The Secretary of Commerce is also tasked with providing recommendations to promote foreign procurement of US-made defence equipment. The order says these efforts are meant "for the purpose of supporting an America First Arms Transfer Strategy".
At the same time, the administration has directed departments to identify Foreign Military Sales and Direct Commercial Sales opportunities that align with the strategy and help grow the US defence industrial base. The order also focuses on reducing inefficiencies in arms transfers. It calls for clearer criteria on end-use monitoring and a review of third-party transfer processes. According to the order, these steps are intended to "improve information sharing and efficiencies to ensure allies and partners are complying with United States requirements and to reduce risk of diversion."
As the new American weapons export reform takes effect, it is worth noting that a prior statement on the proposed US-India trade deal highlighted a framework for an interim agreement between the two countries, in which India has "intended" to purchase USD 500 billion worth of US aircraft and aircraft parts. The parts include power plants for India's homegrown Tejas programme.