Global conflicts and geopolitical tensions have made one thing unmistakably clear: the United States must remain the Arsenal of Freedom. But sustaining that role demands more than resolve. It requires a business plan to compete like never before for foreign defense sales.
That plan is President Donald J. Trump’s America First Arms Transfer Strategy (AFATS), established by an Executive Order signed in February 2026. AFATS tasked the Department of Commerce, which houses the International Trade Administration’s Global Markets Advocacy Center, with developing and implementing a strategic plan to increase foreign procurement of defense articles produced in America.
This strategic plan was recently approved within the US government, and we are eager to share highlights here for the first time in order to give industry a sense of what is coming and how Commerce is ready to help them on a global scale.
As a businessman himself, President Trump understands something every defense executive knows instinctively: you cannot make long-term investment decisions without sustained, predictable revenue. AFATS is built on exactly that logic, and it is already delivering results.
We are building on a record of success across all sectors. Since President Trump took office, US Government commercial and defense advocacy has helped secure a record-breaking 176 signed contracts worth $318 billion, including $270 billion in Made-in-America export content and more than one million American jobs supported.
