Washington, Feb 7 || US President Donald Trump signed an executive order to reshape how the United States sells weapons abroad, aiming to rebuild domestic manufacturing, cut red tape and speed delivery of American-made arms to key partners and allies.
The White House said the order establishes an “America First Arms Transfer Strategy” to ensure the US defence industrial base remains the “Arsenal of Freedom” for the United States and its partners.
Under the order, US arms transfers must focus on building production capacity for weapons seen as most important to the National Security Strategy. They must also support domestic reindustrialization, strengthen supply chains, and prioritize partners that invest in their own defence and hold strategic importance.
The order directs the Secretaries of War, State, and Commerce to create a catalog of priority weapons and systems. It also calls on them to step up advocacy for US arms sales that meet the strategy’s goals and to work more closely with industry.
A new Promoting American Military Sales Task Force will oversee the strategy and track progress on major defense sales.