On April 9th, President Trump signed an Executive Order titled “Reforming Foreign Defense Sales To Improve Speed And Accountability” (“the FMS EO”). The FMS EO directs the Departments of Defense and State to reform the foreign defense sales system with the goal of “simultaneously strengthen[ing] the security capabilities of our allies and invigorat[ing] our own defense industrial base.”
The EO’s policy goals likely will receive bi-partisan support, as both the Biden administration and the first Trump administration oversaw record transfers of U.S. defense articles and services to foreign allies. Indeed, the FMS EO comes just a few months after the Department of State reported that the final year of the Biden administration saw the “highest ever annual total of sales and assistance provided to our allies and partners,” with a total value of $117.9 billion in sales under the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program, a 45.7% increase from FY 2023. Moreover, many of the policy goals align generally with recommendations the House Foreign Affairs Committee’s TIGER Task Force issued last year.
On the other hand, the FMS EO would reduce Congressional review and export restrictions on the transfer of certain sensitive defense articles, expand the ability of foreign allies to procure defense items directly from U.S. contractors through direct commercial contracts, and place a new emphasis on cost and burden-sharing by allies. These measures are more likely to encounter resistance. Continue Reading New Executive Order Targets Reforms to Foreign Military Sales