Fact Sheets

Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Establishes the America First Arms Transfer Strategy

The White House

February 6, 2026

REINDUSTRIALIZING AMERICA THROUGH ARMS TRANSFERS: Today, President Donald J. Trump signed an Executive Order establishing the America First Arms Transfer Strategy. This strategy will ensure that the American industrial base remains the Arsenal of Freedom for the United States and all of our partners and allies.

• Through the establishment of the America First Arms Transfer Strategy, the United States Government is tasked with ensuring that U.S. arms transfers must: (1) build production capacity for weapons that are most operationally relevant for the execution of the National Security Strategy; (2) support domestic reindustrialization and improve the resiliency of our defense industrial base; (3) strengthen critical supply chains; and (4) prioritize partners that have invested in their own self-defense and have a critical role or geography for executing the National Security Strategy.
• The Order directs the Secretaries of War, State, and Commerce to: (1) develop a sales catalog of prioritized platforms and systems that support the goals of the America First Arms Transfer Strategy; (2) enhance advocacy efforts for U.S. arms transfers that are in line with the Strategy’s objectives; and (3) work with industry to ensure robust collaboration and coordination.
• The Order establishes the Promoting American Military Sales Task Force which will oversee Strategy implementation and monitor major defense sales progress.
• To reduce delays and cumbersome bureaucracy, the Order instructs the Secretaries of War, State, and Commerce to immediately work to find efficiencies in the Enhanced End Use Monitoring criteria, the Third-Party Transfer process, and the Congressional Notification process.
• To increase transparency in our defense sales process, the Order directs the Secretaries of War, State, and Commerce to publish aggregate quarterly performance metrics on defense sales case execution.

• This groundbreaking Strategy will leverage America’s record-breaking defense sales to revitalize the defense industrial base, rapidly deliver American-manufactured weapons so our partners and allies can assume responsibility for the security of their region, and foster a more intentional and transparent arms transfer enterprise.
  PUTTING AMERICA FIRST IN ARMS TRANSFERS: Thanks to President Trump’s leadership, the United States is selling more defense equipment than ever before.

• America’s old arms transfer paradigm failed to strategically prioritize our industrial base in connection with these sales.

  • Instead of leveraging our foreign defense sales to actively grow and shape our industrial base, our defense sales have historically been shaped by the priorities of our partners. This has resulted in an industrial base that does not function as effectively for the security of the American public as it could.
  • This previous partner-first arms sales approach represented a missed opportunity to expand our own manufacturing capabilities in a manner that puts America First.
  • This approach also resulted in production backlogs, cost overruns, and years-long delivery delays for partners and allies to receive critical weapons and platforms, as orders were mismatched to production capabilities.

• The America First Arms Transfer Strategy will now leverage over $300 billion in annual defense sales to strategically reindustrialize the United States and rapidly deliver American-manufactured weapons to help our partners and allies establish deterrence and defend themselves.

• Thanks to President Trump’s leadership, our partners and allies are beginning to take on more responsibility for the security of their region. To ensure they are able to do this effectively, the United States must be able to reliably and rapidly deliver them the best military equipment in the world.

• The America First Arms Transfer Strategydemands a fundamental shift in the United States Government’s approach to arms transfers that will benefit America, our industrial base, and our partners and allies.
  ACCELERATING SALES OF AMERICAN MANUFACTURED EQUIPMENT: President Trump is committed to ensuring America maintains the world’s strongest and most technologically advanced military, supported by a robust network of capable partners and allies.

• In January 2025, President Trump signed an Executive Order to modernize defense acquisitions and spur innovation in the defense industrial base, ensuring red tape is no longer slowing the defense industrial base’s ability to respond to emerging global threats and even basic requirements.

• In April 2025, President Trump signed an Executive Order to improve speed and accountability in the foreign defense sales system. The America First Arms Transfer Strategy announced today builds on the successful implementation of the April Executive Order.

• In January 2026, President Trump signed an Executive Order to stop defense contractors from putting stock buybacks and excessive corporate distributions ahead of production capacity, innovation, and on-time delivery for America’s military.