U.S. Presidential Election 2020 - Candidate Positions
Given the central role of the United States, the 2020 U.S. presidential election promises to have a significant impact on all the issues tracked by the Forum on the Arms Trade. To serve as a resource, the positions of the Democratic presidential candidates Joseph Biden, Elizabeth Warren, and Bernard Sanders, as well as Republican candidate Donald Trump, are outlined and analyzed here on selected topics. Until the election occurs, this effort will be a work in progress, and we welcome feedback and additional information on candidates positions, which can be sent to info@ForumArmsTrade.org. (See also "Methodology" at the end of this page.) Assessments here are not endorsed by Forum experts nor the candidates.
Security Assistance - Middle East
A large volume of weapons flows into the Middle East and North Africa, with both the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia making SIPRI's list of top five importers of major weapons and the United States committed to Israel having a qualitative military edge over other countries in the region. The role of American and other Western arms in the war currently being waged by a Saudi-led coalition in Yemen has become the foremost arms trade policy issue of 2019, with Trump and most Republicans in support of arms sales while Democrats and some moderate Republicans oppose them. The sales have also led to controversy over the extent of Presidential authority in approving arms transfers after Trump invoked an emergency clause in the 1976 Arms Export Authorization Act to override Congressional opposition to a package of arms sales in May 2019.
All of the Democratic presidential candidates have stated that they oppose U.S. support to the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen, differing only in the extent of their opposition and their opinion on the usefulness of Saudi Arabia as an ally to counterbalance Iranian influence in the Gulf. Donald Trump is expected to continue to support high levels of military and other sales to the Saudis.
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Arms Trade Treaty
The Arms Trade Treaty is the first global accord to regulate nearly all conventional weapons, requiring states to consider multiple criteria in making arms transfer decisions. It entered into force on December 24, 2014, and today has 89 states parties and 44 signatories. The United States signed the treaty on September 25, 2013. However, it was never ratified and was symbolically withdrawn from Senate consideration by President Donald Trump on April 26, 2019.
All of the Democratic presidential candidates are expected to support a return to the Arms Trade Treaty, while Trump will likely continue his opposition to it.
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USML Cat I-III to Commerce
In 2018, the Trump administration proposed new rules allowing for semiautomatic weapons, ammunition, and other firearms commercially available in the United States to be moved from the U.S. Munitions List (USML), where sales of over $1 million are subject to Congressional scrutiny, to the Commerce Control List (CCL), where there is no such requirement. Democrats have put forth legislation in the Senate to block the changes, most recently a July 11, 2019 addition to the FY 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), but the results are still pending.
All of the Democratic candidates are expected to oppose the reclassification effort. Donald Trump supports it, as it favors the interests of gun rights activists and gun manufacturers, core Republican constituent groups.
Click here for fuller analysis and quotes.
A large volume of weapons flows into the Middle East and North Africa, with both the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia making SIPRI's list of top five importers of major weapons and the United States committed to Israel having a qualitative military edge over other countries in the region. The role of American and other Western arms in the war currently being waged by a Saudi-led coalition in Yemen has become the foremost arms trade policy issue of 2019, with Trump and most Republicans in support of arms sales while Democrats and some moderate Republicans oppose them. The sales have also led to controversy over the extent of Presidential authority in approving arms transfers after Trump invoked an emergency clause in the 1976 Arms Export Authorization Act to override Congressional opposition to a package of arms sales in May 2019.
All of the Democratic presidential candidates have stated that they oppose U.S. support to the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen, differing only in the extent of their opposition and their opinion on the usefulness of Saudi Arabia as an ally to counterbalance Iranian influence in the Gulf. Donald Trump is expected to continue to support high levels of military and other sales to the Saudis.
Click here for fuller analysis and quotes.
Arms Trade Treaty
The Arms Trade Treaty is the first global accord to regulate nearly all conventional weapons, requiring states to consider multiple criteria in making arms transfer decisions. It entered into force on December 24, 2014, and today has 89 states parties and 44 signatories. The United States signed the treaty on September 25, 2013. However, it was never ratified and was symbolically withdrawn from Senate consideration by President Donald Trump on April 26, 2019.
All of the Democratic presidential candidates are expected to support a return to the Arms Trade Treaty, while Trump will likely continue his opposition to it.
Click here for fuller analysis and quotes.
USML Cat I-III to Commerce
In 2018, the Trump administration proposed new rules allowing for semiautomatic weapons, ammunition, and other firearms commercially available in the United States to be moved from the U.S. Munitions List (USML), where sales of over $1 million are subject to Congressional scrutiny, to the Commerce Control List (CCL), where there is no such requirement. Democrats have put forth legislation in the Senate to block the changes, most recently a July 11, 2019 addition to the FY 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), but the results are still pending.
All of the Democratic candidates are expected to oppose the reclassification effort. Donald Trump supports it, as it favors the interests of gun rights activists and gun manufacturers, core Republican constituent groups.
Click here for fuller analysis and quotes.
METHODOLOGY
Presidential candidates have not made explicit statements about many of the topics tracked by the Forum on the Arms Trade. In describing the positions of candidates, great effort is placed in directly linking to relevant statements, official positions as described on candidates' websites, past votes (where relevant), and other documented sources so that readers may reference those directly. Additional analysis is also provided, often indicated by the word "expected." This resource will be continually updated until the election. We welcome feedback and other information from those who use this resource (please contact us via email).
Jeff Abramson manages the project with research assistance from Owen LeGrone, who together consult with Forum-listed experts. Assessments here are not endorsed by other experts, the Forum on the Arms Trade, nor the candidates.
Presidential candidates have not made explicit statements about many of the topics tracked by the Forum on the Arms Trade. In describing the positions of candidates, great effort is placed in directly linking to relevant statements, official positions as described on candidates' websites, past votes (where relevant), and other documented sources so that readers may reference those directly. Additional analysis is also provided, often indicated by the word "expected." This resource will be continually updated until the election. We welcome feedback and other information from those who use this resource (please contact us via email).
Jeff Abramson manages the project with research assistance from Owen LeGrone, who together consult with Forum-listed experts. Assessments here are not endorsed by other experts, the Forum on the Arms Trade, nor the candidates.