Biden Administration Arms Sales Review - 2021
This resource page details developments related to a January 27 announcement by the Biden administration that it was conducting a broad review of arms sales and a February 4 statement by the President that the US was ending some arms sales in relation to the war in Yemen. The narrative below generally follows in chronological order, with most recent updates near the top.
On February 26, after the release of a report on the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, members of the House introduced legislation to stop arms sales to Saudi Arabia. A day earlier, 41 member of the House, endorsed by many civil society organizations, issued a letter to President Biden asking for clarity on weapons sales to Saudi Arabia and the UAE, expressing their "strong support for your decision to end U.S. participation in offensive operations in the Saudi/UAE-led war in Yemen, as well as related weapons sales..."
On February 11, more than 75 organizations and experts issued a letter detailing $36.5 billion in arms sales and services to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates that they believe should be consider relevant to "offensive operations" and permanently stopped. (See related Foreign Policy exclusive.)
On February 4, President Biden announced the end of "all American support for offensive operations in the war in Yemen, including relevant arms sales." (More information is still needed to clarify what this means for some specific sales, including to the United Arab Emirates, but includes precision guided munitions to Saudi Arabia according to Jake Sullivan during a press conference earlier in the day.)
On January 27, Secretary of State Blinken indicated that the State Department was reviewing arms sales, responding to a press question by saying that "Generally speaking when it comes to arms sales, it is typical at the start of an administration to review any – any pending sales, to make sure that what is being considered is something that advances our strategic objectives and advances our foreign policy. So that’s – that’s what we’re doing at this moment.."
This was separately and widely reported as including review of recent controversial arms sales to Saudi Arabia and the UAE:
Due to a paucity of official information, the Forum cannot independently confirm that all these sales have been put on pause nor the expected duration of the review.
Numerous Congressional and civil society leaders have applauded this review and recommended that sales be stopped altogether or conditioned. See resources below, which will be continually updated.
last updated February 12, 2021.
Experts to contact: Kate Kizer, William Hartung, Scott Paul, Annie Shiel, Jeff Abramson, Brittany Benowitz, Elias Yousif, Seth Binder, Jodi Vittori (corruption)
Select Resources
Government (Biden administration)
Congress
Civil Society
On February 26, after the release of a report on the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, members of the House introduced legislation to stop arms sales to Saudi Arabia. A day earlier, 41 member of the House, endorsed by many civil society organizations, issued a letter to President Biden asking for clarity on weapons sales to Saudi Arabia and the UAE, expressing their "strong support for your decision to end U.S. participation in offensive operations in the Saudi/UAE-led war in Yemen, as well as related weapons sales..."
On February 11, more than 75 organizations and experts issued a letter detailing $36.5 billion in arms sales and services to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates that they believe should be consider relevant to "offensive operations" and permanently stopped. (See related Foreign Policy exclusive.)
On February 4, President Biden announced the end of "all American support for offensive operations in the war in Yemen, including relevant arms sales." (More information is still needed to clarify what this means for some specific sales, including to the United Arab Emirates, but includes precision guided munitions to Saudi Arabia according to Jake Sullivan during a press conference earlier in the day.)
On January 27, Secretary of State Blinken indicated that the State Department was reviewing arms sales, responding to a press question by saying that "Generally speaking when it comes to arms sales, it is typical at the start of an administration to review any – any pending sales, to make sure that what is being considered is something that advances our strategic objectives and advances our foreign policy. So that’s – that’s what we’re doing at this moment.."
This was separately and widely reported as including review of recent controversial arms sales to Saudi Arabia and the UAE:
- Saudi Arabia (see resource page) - 3,000 small diameter bombs (GBU-39) for $290 million notified December 29, 2020; and 7,500 precision-guided, air-to-ground munitions valued at $478 million notified a week earlier.
- United Arab Emirates (see resource page) - $23+ billion notified in November 2020 for up to 50 F-35 Lightning II aircraft, valued at $10.4 billion; up to 18 MQ-9B Unmanned Aerial Systems, valued at $2.97 billion; a package of air-to-air and air-to-ground munitions, valued at $10 billion; and a revised earlier sale of to add hundreds of Sidewinder missiles.
Due to a paucity of official information, the Forum cannot independently confirm that all these sales have been put on pause nor the expected duration of the review.
Numerous Congressional and civil society leaders have applauded this review and recommended that sales be stopped altogether or conditioned. See resources below, which will be continually updated.
last updated February 12, 2021.
Experts to contact: Kate Kizer, William Hartung, Scott Paul, Annie Shiel, Jeff Abramson, Brittany Benowitz, Elias Yousif, Seth Binder, Jodi Vittori (corruption)
Select Resources
Government (Biden administration)
- "Remarks by President Biden on America’s Place in the World," February 4, 2021
- "Secretary Antony J. Blinken at a Press Availability" remarks to the press January 27, 2021
Congress
- Chris Murphy, "America’s Middle East Policy Is Outdated and Dangerous," Foreign Affairs, February 19, 2021.
- "On The Senate Floor, Murphy: The Biden Administration Is Off To A Good Start By Ending U.S. Military Support For Yemen War, Suspending Arms Sales To Saudi Arabia And The United Arab Emirates," Senator Chris Murphy, January 28, 2021. See also related tweets on February 3 (here and here).
- Letter to Secretary of State Blinken that includes call for suspension of some weapons sales from Representatives Tom Malinowski, Gregory Meeks, Adam Smith, and James McGovern, January 26, 2021.
- On January 15, 2021, House Foreign Affairs Committee chair Gregory Meeks (D-NY) announced the introduction of joint resolutions of disapproval for the December 23 and 29 sales to Saudi Arabia (see HJ Res 15 [small diameter bombs] and 16 [PGMs])
- "Ro Khanna, Congressional Progressive Caucus Statement Denouncing Harmful, Counterproductive Designation Of Houthis As A Terrorist Organization" statement, which includes call to end military support to Saudi-led coalition, January 15, 2021.
Civil Society
- Organizational statements
- Letter from more than 75 organizations and experts, February 11, 2021.
- "Arms Sale Freeze is a Major Victory. Now Make it Permanent," Win Without War, January 27, 2021
- New York Center for Foreign Policy Affairs, statements, February 4 and January 27, 2021.
- William Hartung, "Fueling Conflict: U.S. Arms Sales to the United Arab Emirates and the U.S.-UAE Military Alliance," Center for International Policy, January 27, 2021. See also "Don’t stop with Saudis — Biden must cut off weapons to UAE, too," Responsible Statecraft, February 17, 2021.
- "Biden slams the brakes on UAE, Saudi weapons gravy train — for now." Responsible Statecraft, January 27, 2021.
- Annie Shiel, Seth Binder, Jeff Abramson, William Hartung, Rachel Stohl, Diana Ohlbaum, Adam Isacson, Brittany Benowitz and Dan Mahanty, "Toward A More Responsible US Arms Trade Policy: Recommendations for the Biden-Harris Administration," Just Security, January 19, 2021
- On December 30, the New York Center for Foreign Policy Affairs filed a lawsuit seeking to block sales to the United Arab Emirates (see press release, brief).
- Shayna Lewis, "Defense contractors like Raytheon aren't blameless in Yemen crisis," AZ Central, February 3, 2021.
- Ethan B Kapstein and Jonathan D. Caverley, "Biden Must Base Arms Sales on U.S. Interests—Not U.S. Jobs," Foreign Policy, February 25, 2021.
EXPERT RESPONSES
Forum on the Arms Trade-listed experts* provided the following public comments on this topic. Please contact experts directly for further comments:
Kate Kizer Policy Director, Win Without War - January 27, 2021
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“...Simply freezing these sales and later resuming them would only be a slap in the face to the victims of these two monarchies’ actions in these conflicts. This must be a first step towards real accountability, not only for the repeated violations of international and domestic law, but also for the U.S. alliances with these monarchies that have, thus far, been a blank check for impunity. To fully fulfill his campaign promises, the Biden administration must stop arming unaccountable authoritarian governments for good." See full statement here. |
* Inclusion on the Forum on the Arms Trade expert list does not indicate agreement with or endorsement of the opinions of others. Institutional affiliation is indicated for identification purposes only. Please contact experts directly for further comments.