United States Policy and Practice
Defense Industry
The United States defense industry remains the largest in the world, with many of its sales aided by offset agreements. Some industry officials express concern about their industry's health due to export control and budget constraints, while critics point to waste and suggest that there are better uses of US funds.
Experts: William Hartung, Samuel Perlo-Freeman, Alejandro Sanchez, Anne-Charlotte Merrell Wetterwik.
Key resources:
Recent Expert Publications*:
*publications in which Forum-listed experts were involved. Inclusion on the Forum on the Arms Trade expert list does not indicate agreement with or endorsement of the opinions of others.
The United States defense industry remains the largest in the world, with many of its sales aided by offset agreements. Some industry officials express concern about their industry's health due to export control and budget constraints, while critics point to waste and suggest that there are better uses of US funds.
Experts: William Hartung, Samuel Perlo-Freeman, Alejandro Sanchez, Anne-Charlotte Merrell Wetterwik.
Key resources:
- SIPRI - research on top 100 arms companies (global) President's Export Control Reform Initiative
- Impacts of Offsets in the Defense Trade - Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), Department of Commerce
- "Risks and Returns: The Economic Illogic of the Obama Administration's Arms Export Reforms," Center for International Policy, August 21, 2013.
Recent Expert Publications*:
- William Hartung, In 2018, The Trump Administration Will Continue to Tout Job Impacts of Arms Exports, blog post, December 11th, 2017.
*publications in which Forum-listed experts were involved. Inclusion on the Forum on the Arms Trade expert list does not indicate agreement with or endorsement of the opinions of others.
