U.S. Arms Sales to India

US-India
On Feb. 25, 2020, during a visit with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi, U.S. President Donald Trump announced $3 billion in arms agreements, saying they “will enhance our joint defense capabilities as our militaries continue to train and operate side by side.” The Trump administration notified Congress of nearly $7.9 billion in potential Foreign Military Sales (FMS) to New Delhi (2017-2020), including more than $150 million for missiles and torpedoes notified to Congress in April 2020. 

Some members of Congress have raised alarm about India’s actions in Kashmir and its treatment of Muslims, drawing the defense trade into the debate. For example, Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt) criticized sales to the country in a tweet on February 24. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) tweeted on March 2, “President Trump is engaging in arms deals with Modi while his administration is ethnically cleansing the country’s religious minorities. We must not enable this rise in sectarian violence.”  In 2019, Representative Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) introduced legislation calling on India to remove restrictions on communications in Jammu and Kashmir, and to preserve religious freedom throughout the country. (Note, on April 28, 2020, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom recommended listing India as a country of particular concern.) 

In a July factsheet, the State Department indicated that it "is committed to further streamlining U.S.-India defense sales." Credible reporting indicates that U.S. changes in interpretation of the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) to make drone exports easier were undertaken with possible sales to India in mind. (The factsheet notes that India was the first country outside the MTCR to have been offered such weapons -- predating the policy change.) 

Cross-border attacks in early 2019 involving India and Pakistan using weapons provided by an array of countries, including the United States, drew international attention to the arms trade involving the long-time rivals. Border skirmishes between India and China in 2020 also have highlighted weapons issues. Amnesty International's decision to suspend its human rights work in the country in late September also raised the profile of development in the country.

Global arms supply: India, which had until recent years been listed as the world’s largest arms importer, now is second largest, accounting for 9.2 percent of global major conventional weapons imports, according to SIPRI. Russia is the country’s top supplier, providing 56 percent of arms deliveries, down from 72 percent during the earlier five-year period. Israel and France provided the second- and third-most weapons to the country in the most recent period. The United States, which was India's second-largest arms supplier in 2010–2014, delivered half as many weapons to New Delhi in 2015–2019. 

Experts to contact: Brittany Benowitz, Jeff Abramson
(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.)
Select Resources

Government​
​Congress 
  • Arms trade related
    • ​Bernie Sanders (I-Vt)  tweet on February 24
    • Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) tweet on March 2,
  • Human rights- and Kashmir-related
    • H.Res.745 - Urging the Republic of India to end the restrictions on communications and mass detentions in Jammu and Kashmir as swiftly as possible and preserve religious freedom for all residents.​ - introduced by Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) on December 6, 2019-- See press release (December 9, 2019)
    • "Human Rights in South Asia: Views from the State Department and the Rgion," hearing, House Committee on Foreign Affairs, subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific, and Nonproliferation, October 22, 2019

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