NextFin News - In a move that fundamentally reshapes the global defense trade landscape, U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Friday establishing the "America First Arms Transfer Strategy." The directive, issued from the White House on February 6, 2026, instructs federal agencies to prioritize the sale and delivery of American-made weaponry to international partners who demonstrate a substantial commitment to their own self-defense through high military spending and strategic alignment with U.S. regional operations.
The policy shift marks the end of a decades-long "partner-first" and first-come, first-served bureaucratic model. According to Reuters, the new strategy is designed to eliminate production backlogs by ensuring that limited manufacturing capacity is allocated to allies deemed essential for regional security. U.S. President Trump has tasked Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick with developing a "prioritized sales catalog" of platforms and systems within 120 days. This catalog will serve as the blueprint for which nations receive expedited access to high-tech American hardware, such as advanced missile systems and fifth-generation fighter jets.
The underlying logic of the order is as much economic as it is geopolitical. The White House fact sheet accompanying the order explicitly states that future sales will use "foreign purchases and capital to build American production and capacity." By funneling the largest orders to the most reliable spenders, the administration seeks to provide U.S. defense contractors with the long-term capital certainty needed to expand domestic factories. This "America First" approach aims to revitalize the U.S. industrial base, ensuring that the domestic military remains technologically superior while allies foot the bill for the necessary scaling of production lines.
This policy serves as a powerful enforcement mechanism for the administration’s demands regarding burden-sharing. In 2025, NATO leaders, under significant pressure from Washington, reaffirmed a defense spending target of 5% of GDP. By linking weapons delivery priority to these spending levels, U.S. President Trump is effectively creating a tiered system of alliance. Nations that meet or exceed spending benchmarks will move to the front of the queue, while those lagging in defense investment may face indefinite delays for critical equipment. According to The Japan Times, this strategy is particularly aimed at countering the rising influence of China and Russia by ensuring that the most capable and committed frontline partners are the best-equipped.
From a financial perspective, the impact on the U.S. defense sector is expected to be profound. Major contractors like Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, and Northrop Grumman have long struggled with supply chain bottlenecks and inconsistent order flows. By streamlining bureaucratic hurdles—including third-party transfer procedures and end-use monitoring—the executive order seeks to reduce the lead time between contract signing and delivery. Analysts suggest that this will lead to a more "mercantilist" arms trade, where the U.S. government acts as a high-speed broker for its most profitable and strategically aligned customers.
Looking ahead, the global arms market is likely to see a surge in competitive spending as middle-power nations vie for "priority status" in Washington. However, the policy also carries risks of alienating long-term partners who may lack the fiscal capacity to meet the new spending thresholds, potentially driving them toward European or even non-Western defense suppliers. As Hegseth and Rubio begin drafting the priority catalog, the international community will be watching closely to see which nations are officially designated as the "inner circle" of the new American security architecture. The era of equitable access to the "Arsenal of Democracy" has ended, replaced by a transactional model where strategic value and fiscal commitment are the only currencies that matter.
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