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President Trump issued an executive order establishing an "America First Arms Transfer Strategy" that explicitly reorients U.S. international arms sales policy away from traditional foreign policy and strategic objectives toward primarily serving domestic industrial base expansion. The order directs arms transfers to (1) build production capacity for operationally relevant weapons, (2) support domestic reindustrialization and defense industrial base resiliency, (3) strengthen critical supply chains, and (4) prioritize partners that have invested in their own self-defense and have critical geography for the National Security Strategy. The order establishes the Promoting American Military Sales Task Force to oversee implementation and directs quarterly publication of aggregate performance metrics on defense sales case execution.
The strategy represents a fundamental shift in U.S. Conventional Arms Transfer (CAT) policy, which since 1995 has considered defense industrial base support but never made it the centerpiece of the enterprise. The order deemphasizes Foreign Military Sales' traditional role as a foreign policy tool, instead viewing FMS primarily as a mechanism to expand domestic production capacity and promote innovation within the U.S. defense industrial base. The Secretaries of Defense, State, and Commerce are directed to develop a sales catalog of prioritized platforms and systems, enhance advocacy efforts for arms transfers aligned with the Strategy's objectives, and work with industry to ensure robust collaboration.
Critics note the strategy fails to acknowledge the multidimensional character of arms transfers and the profound strategic consequences of the enterprise, including human rights implications, regional stability concerns, and long-term diplomatic relationships. A focus on economic benefits misses opportunities to ensure security partnerships have long-term strategic benefits consistent with U.S. foreign policy objectives and national security imperatives beyond immediate industrial production metrics. The order continues the administration's pattern of subordinating traditional diplomatic and security considerations to narrow economic nationalism and corporate profit maximization.