Daijiworld Media Network - Washington

Washington, Feb 7: US President Donald Trump has signed a sweeping executive order to revamp how the United States exports weapons, with the twin goals of revitalising domestic defence manufacturing and accelerating the delivery of American-made arms to strategic partners and allies.

According to the White House, the order introduces an “America First Arms Transfer Strategy” designed to preserve the US defence industry as the world’s “Arsenal of Freedom” while aligning foreign arms sales more closely with national security priorities. The new framework shifts the focus toward expanding production capacity for weapons deemed critical under the National Security Strategy, strengthening supply chains, and supporting the broader push to reindustrialise the US economy.

Under the directive, arms exports will prioritise countries that invest in their own defence capabilities and hold significant strategic value for Washington. The Secretaries of War, State and Commerce have been tasked with drawing up a list of priority weapons systems and intensifying government support for arms sales that fit the new strategy, in closer coordination with defence manufacturers.

To oversee implementation, the administration has set up a Promoting American Military Sales Task Force that will monitor progress on major defence deals and ensure alignment with the policy’s objectives.

The order also targets long-standing delays in the arms transfer process. Federal departments have been instructed to streamline procedures related to end-use monitoring, third-party transfers and congressional notifications — areas that officials say have been bogged down by excessive bureaucracy. To improve accountability, agencies will now be required to publish consolidated quarterly data on how defence export cases are processed.

The White House said the strategy builds on record US defence export levels and seeks to turn annual arms sales worth more than $300 billion into a catalyst for rebuilding the American industrial base. Officials acknowledged that earlier export practices often prioritised foreign demand without sufficient regard for domestic manufacturing capacity, resulting in production bottlenecks, cost overruns and lengthy delivery timelines.

By rebalancing the system, the administration aims to ensure that allies can more effectively shoulder their own security responsibilities, while the United States retains the capacity to deliver advanced military equipment on schedule.

The latest move builds on a series of defence-related orders Trump has signed in recent years, including measures to modernise defence procurement, speed up foreign military sales, and compel contractors to prioritise production, innovation and timely delivery over stock buybacks and excessive payouts.

Although the new policy does not single out specific countries, its emphasis on strategically important partners has clear implications for India. As a Major Defence Partner of the US and a key player in the Indo-Pacific, India stands to be affected by the shift, particularly as it has steadily expanded its defence purchases from the United States in recent years.