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.
To fulfill our nation’s goal of becoming a net exporter, foreign demand must be leveraged for expansive growth. Foreign defense sales lower per-unit costs, keep production lines active, support the American warfighter, strengthen supply chains, and generate the consistent revenue that funds the R&D keeping America’s technological edge sharp. In short, winning abroad means being ready at home.
The challenge is that foreign defense sales are increasingly contested. Other global manufacturers are competing aggressively with the support of their governments and with faster delivery. And the US foreign military sales process, including the process of applying for advocacy help, has at times been too slow to meet the pace of global demand. AFATS is designed to fix that.
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A Four-Part Strategy To Win
AFATS directs the Department of Commerce, in coordination with the Departments of State and War, to enhance advocacy efforts encouraging foreign procurement of American-made defense articles. Working with interagency partners and under the leadership of Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade William Kimmitt, the Advocacy Center has developed four concrete priorities.
1. Reform Defense Advocacy Policy. With a head start from the April 2025 Executive Order “Reforming Foreign Defense Sales to Improve Speed and Accountability,” we are simplifying and streamlining US government approval of advocacy support with a single standard operating procedure, a new decision clock to speed approval of cases and a new exceptions process to permit advocacy for select cases that do not meet the traditional foreign competition requirement.
These outlined advocacy reforms build on action taken in September 2025, when the Departments of Commerce, State and War agreed that US companies no longer need to submit the DSP-5 marketing license form to qualify for official defense advocacy support. The key takeaway for industry is that we are committed to practical reforms, not just rhetoric.
2. Educate and Empower US Government Stakeholders. Our overseas representatives are an indispensable asset for winning defense advocacy deals. We are issuing new global guidance to empower all US embassies to expedite advocacy application reviews and to increase opportunities for direct advocacy with foreign counterparts. Additionally, we are organizing worldwide training and engaging senior War Department leaders and combatant commands to leverage in-country relationships with foreign militaries and governments. These efforts will turn every US outpost into a more effective advocate for the American defense industry.
3. Prioritize Advocacy at the Highest Levels. Foreign competitors often benefit from aggressive, senior-level government support. American companies should have the full weight of the United States government behind them. We will do so by elevating procurements that support the US Defense Industrial Base in bilateral meetings, trade negotiations, and multilateral engagements at the cabinet and senior leadership levels.
4. Strengthen Industry Outreach and Engagement. We are deepening collaboration with US industry, including for new entrants and innovators. That means more export promotion events, more business matchmaking opportunities, and broader outreach to innovative defense companies, including emerging firms and those outside the traditional defense industrial base.
Momentum Is Already Building
We are already successfully engaging US companies, moving with speed and efficiency, and delivering results. Unmanned aircraft systems (drones and counter-drone technology) are among our fastest-growing subsectors, with 62 active cases already worth $30 billion. Demand for US government advocacy support is surging. We saw a 34 percent increase in approved defense cases from FY2024 to FY2025, and FY2026 is tracking 27 percent ahead of the prior year. We are already off to a strong start on results, with thirteen signed foreign defense sale contracts in FY2026 alone worth $9 billion and including $7.3 billion in US exports.
Commerce’s International Trade Administration (ITA) is accelerating industry engagement and increasing participation in innovative, new events that are opening doors, making connections and delivering outcomes. From the US-Japan UAS/C-UAS Defense Industry Conference in Tokyo to the SOUTHCOM Space Conference of the Americas to the Transatlantic Defense Industry Access Forum, we have opened new opportunities for American companies to pitch solutions and connect directly to military delegations. ITA is expanding the number of international trade shows where the US government advocates for defense deals and is elevating the position level of government-to-government advocacy at these shows. This is just the start.
Government advocacy is most effective when it is strategic, targeted and focused on the right opportunities where US engagement can have the greatest impact. Our only metric for success is signed contracts that support American workers, strengthen our industrial base and advance US economic and national security interests.
What You Can Do Today
AFATS is a mandate from President Trump, a strategy for the United States government and an opportunity for our defense industry. ITA’s Global Markets Advocacy Center is actively seeking new opportunities to put the full resources of the United States government behind American companies competing for projects around the world.
If your company is competing for a specific foreign defense sale, we encourage you to explore US government advocacy support at trade.gov/advocacy. ITA’s aerospace and defense export promotion programs can also help you connect with foreign buyers and take advantage of matchmaking opportunities.
The goal is clear: build up the production capacity of the American defense industrial base, win more deals, and ensure the Arsenal of Freedom remains open, innovative and ready. We stand ready to help US companies turn that goal into results.
Hiro Rodriguez is Executive Director of the Advocacy Center within the Global Markets business unit of the International Trade Administration, US Department of Commerce.