Reforming Foreign Defense Sales To Improve Speed and Accountability
Record date: 2025-04-15
( printed page 15631) Executive Order 14268 of April 9, 2025 Reforming Foreign Defense Sales To Improve Speed and Accountability By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered: Section 1 . Purpose . To serve the interests of the American people, the United States must maintain the world's strongest and most technologically advanced military through a dynamic defense industrial base, coupled with a robust network of capable partners and allies. A rapid and transparent
What this record contains
- Federal Register document
- 2025-06464
- Publication date
- 2025-04-15
- Citation
- 90 FR 15631
- Issuing office
- Executive Office of the President
Official record excerpt
( printed page 15631) Executive Order 14268 of April 9, 2025 Reforming Foreign Defense Sales To Improve Speed and Accountability By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered: Section 1 . Purpose . To serve the interests of the American people, the United States must maintain the world's strongest and most technologically advanced military through a dynamic defense industrial base, coupled with a robust network of capable partners and allies. A rapid and transparent foreign defense sales system that enables effective defense cooperation between the United States and our chosen partners is foundational to these objectives. Reforming this system would simultaneously strengthen the security capabilities of our allies and invigorate our own defense industrial base. This mutually reinforcing approach would enhance United States warfighting capabilities by fostering healthy American supply chains, domestic production levels, and technological development. Sec. 2 . Policy . It is the policy of my Administration to: (a) Improve accountability and transparency throughout the foreign defense sales system to ensure predictable and reliable delivery of American products to foreign partners in support of United States foreign policy objectives. (b) Consolidate parallel decision-making when determining which military capabilities the United States will choose to provide, and to which countries. (c) Reduce rules and regulations involved in the development, execution, and monitoring of foreign defense sales and of transfer cases to ensure alignment with United States foreign policy objectives. (d) Increase government-industry collaboration to achieve cost and schedule efficiencies in the execution of the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program. (e) Advance United States competitiveness abroad, revitalize the defense industrial base, and lower unit costs for the United States and our allies and partners by integrating exportability features in the design phase, improving financing options for partners, and increasing contract flexibility overall. Sec. 3 . Phased Implementation . (a) The Secretary of State and the Secretary of Defense shall promptly: (i) Implement National Security Presidential Memorandum 10 of April 19, 2018 (United States Conventional Arms Transfer Policy), or any successor policy directive. (ii) Reevaluate restrictions imposed by the Missile Technology Control Regime on Category I items and consider supplying certain partners with specific Category I items, in consultation with the Secretary of Commerce. (iii) Submit a joint letter to the Congress proposing an update to statutory congressional certification (also known as congressional notification) thresholds of proposed sales under the FMS and Direct Commercial Sales (DCS) programs in the Arms Export Control Act ( 22 U.S.C. 2751 et seq .). The Secretary of State shall also work with the Congress to review congressional notification processes to ensure the timely adjudication of notified FMS and DCS cases. (b) Within 60 days of the date of this order: (i) The Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary of Defense, shall develop a list of priority partners for conventional arms transfers ( printed page 15632) and issue updated guidance to Chiefs of the United States Diplomatic Missions regarding this list. (ii) The Secretary of Defense, in consultation with the Secretary of State, shall: (A) develop a list of priority end-items for potential transfer to priority partners identified by the Secretary of State in the list required by this subsection; (B) ensure the transfer of priority end-items to priority partners would not cause significant harm to United States force readiness; and (C) ensure the transfer of priority end-items to priority partners would advance my Administration's goal of strengthening allied burden-sharing, both by sharing the cost of end-item production and by increasing our allies' capacity to meet capability targets independently, without sustained support from the United States. (c)(i) The Secretary of State and the Secretary of Defense shall review, update, and reissue the lists of priority partners and military end-items on an annual basis. (ii) The Secretary of State and the Secretary of Defense shall review and update the list of defense items that can only be purchased through the FMS process (the FMS-Only List) and the United States Munitions List, 22 C.F.R. part 121 , to focus protections solely on our most sensitive and sophisticated technologies, and shall establish clear criteria for including an item on the FMS-Only
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