253Arms transfer policy is what the whole government reviews---that's a bounded set.
Yousif and Stohl 26 — Elias Yousif and Rachel Stohl. February 19. Fellow with, and Acting Director of, the Conventional Defense Program at the Stimson Center; Stohl is Acting President and CEO and a former consultant to the UN Arms Trade Treaty process. Stimson Center, "Understanding the Evolution and Emerging Volatility of US Arms Transfer Policies," https://www.stimson.org/2026/understanding-the-evolution-and-emerging-volatility-of-us-arms-transfer-policies/ Clopus
Though their contents vary, CAT policies are frameworks that outline how the whole of the U.S. government will review and evaluate arms transfer decisions. The guidance is intended to orient U.S. security cooperation and assistance toward a set of topline objectives and ensure they reflect broader policies and interests. These directives are intended to define the key criteria and goals that shape the adjudication of arms transfer decisions and have, at various times, both encouraged and put limits around U.S. security cooperation and assistance. While they are not legally binding, these executive directives offer important signposts for how the U.S. government views arms transfers within its broader approach to international affairs.
Changes to U.S. CAT policies have been relatively infrequent since they were first introduced by President Carter in 1977. Although President Reagan released his own policy that rescinded many of the restraint-minded aspects of his predecessor’s directive, it was another 14 years before President Clinton issued a revision in 1995 (the first of the post-Cold War era). That policy stood for nearly two decades before President Obama replaced it in 2014, reflecting the substantial changes in international security priorities following the September 11th attacks and the Global War on Terror. The Obama policy reintroduced the concept of restraint in U.S. arms sales and placed greater emphasis on human rights and governance considerations. Nevertheless, the 2014 policy by and large echoed the standard principles that had historically underpinned U.S. arms transfers with a focus on supporting allies and enabling America’s vast system of defense partnerships.
254Performing a defense service is itself an export---services are transfers.
ITAR 120.50 — International Traffic in Arms Regulations, 22 C.F.R. §120.50. State Department rules implementing the Arms Export Control Act; the operative regulation for what counts as leaving American hands. Code of Federal Regulations, "22 CFR §120.50 - Export," https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-22/chapter-I/subchapter-M/part-120/subpart-C/section-120.50 Clopus
( a ) Export, except as set forth in § 120.54 or § 126.16 or § 126.17 of this subchapter , means:
( 1 ) An actual shipment or transmission out of the United States, including the sending or taking of a defense article out of the United States in any manner;
( 2 ) Releasing or otherwise transferring technical data to a foreign person in the United States (a deemed export);
( 3 ) Transferring registration, control, or ownership of any aircraft, vessel, or satellite subject to this subchapter by a U.S. person to a foreign person;
( 4 ) Releasing or otherwise transferring a defense article to an embassy or to any of its agencies or subdivisions, such as a diplomatic mission or consulate, in the United States;
( 5 ) Performing a defense service on behalf of, or for the benefit of, a foreign person, whether in the United States or abroad; or
( 6 ) The release of previously encrypted technical data as described in § 120.56(a)(3) and (4) .
( b ) Any release in the United States of technical data to a foreign person is deemed to be an export to all countries in which the foreign person has held or holds citizenship or holds permanent residency.
255Anything can be added to the list---the USML is open-ended by design.
ITAR 121.1 — International Traffic in Arms Regulations, 22 C.F.R. §121.1, the United States Munitions List. Directorate of Defense Trade Controls, U.S. Department of State; source note 87 FR 16411. Code of Federal Regulations, "22 CFR §121.1 - The United States Munitions List," https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-22/chapter-I/subchapter-M/part-121/section-121.1 Clopus
Category XXI—Articles, Technical Data, and Defense Services Not Otherwise Enumerated
* (a) Any article not enumerated on the U.S. Munitions List may be included in this category until such time as the appropriate U.S. Munitions List category is amended to describe the article.
(b) Technical data (see § 120.33 of this subchapter ) and defense services (see § 120.32 of this subchapter ) directly related to the defense articles covered in paragraph (a) of this category.
256A defense article reaches the component and the part---not just the airframe.
AECA 14 — Arms Export Control Act §47, codified at 22 U.S.C. §2794. Definitions section of the governing arms-export statute, as amended by Pub. L. 113-276 §207. Office of the Law Revision Counsel, U.S. House of Representatives, "22 U.S. Code §2794 - Definitions," https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title22-section2794&num=0&edition=prelim Clopus
(3) "defense article", except as provided in paragraph (7) of this section, means, with respect to a sale or transfer by the United States under the authority of this chapter or any other foreign assistance or sales program of the United States-
(A) any weapon, weapons system, munition, aircraft, vessel, boat, or other implement of war,
(B) any property, installation, commodity, material, equipment, supply, or goods used for the purposes of making military sales,
(C) any machinery, facility, tool, material, supply, or other item necessary for the manufacture, production, processing, repair, servicing, storage, construction, transportation, operation, or use of any article listed in this paragraph, and
(D) any component or part of any article listed in this paragraph,
but does not include merchant vessels or (as defined by the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 [ 42 U.S.C. 2011 et seq. ]) source material (except uranium depleted in the isotope 235 which is incorporated in defense articles solely to take advantage of high density or pyrophoric characteristics unrelated to radioactivity), byproduct material, special nuclear material, production facilities, utilization facilities, or atomic weapons or articles involving Restricted Data;
257Bombs and rockets get their own Munitions List category---they are arms.
ITAR 121.1 — International Traffic in Arms Regulations, 22 C.F.R. §121.1, the United States Munitions List. Directorate of Defense Trade Controls, U.S. Department of State; source note 87 FR 16411. Code of Federal Regulations, "22 CFR §121.1 - The United States Munitions List," https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-22/chapter-I/subchapter-M/part-121/section-121.1 Clopus
Category IV—Launch Vehicles, Guided Missiles, Ballistic Missiles, Rockets, Torpedoes, Bombs, and Mines
* (a) Rockets, space launch vehicles (SLVs), missiles, bombs, torpedoes, depth charges, mines, and grenades, as follows:
(1) Rockets, SLVs, and missiles capable of delivering at least a 500-kg payload to a range of at least 300 km (MT);
(2) Rockets, SLVs, and missiles capable of delivering less than a 500-kg payload to a range of at least 300 km (MT);
(3) Man-portable air defense systems (MANPADS);
(4) Anti-tank missiles and rockets;
(5) Rockets, SLVs, and missiles not meeting the criteria of paragraphs (a)(1) through (a)(4) of this category;
(6) Bombs;
(7) Torpedoes;
(8) Depth charges;
(9) Anti-personnel, anti-vehicle, or anti-armor land mines (e.g., area denial devices);
(10) Anti-helicopter mines;
(11) Naval mines; or
258The package is munitions and precision bombs---that’s an arms transfer on anyone’s reading.
HRW 25 — Human Rights Watch. August 19. International human rights monitoring organization; the piece is HRW’s response to the notified package. Human Rights Watch, "US-Nigeria Weapons Sale Requires Rights Safeguards," https://www.hrw.org/news/2025/08/19/us-nigeria-weapons-sale-requires-rights-safeguards Clopus
The US State Department approved another potential multi-million-dollar weapons sale to Nigeria on August 14, citing support for the country’s efforts to fight terrorism and illicit trafficking. Yet the announcement is conspicuously silent on the Nigerian military’s record of serious human rights abuses and on what safeguards, if any, will be implemented to ensure accountability and prevent further violations.
The proposed sale includes munitions, precision bombs, and precision rockets and related equipment for an estimated cost of US$346 million. It follows another $997 million package approved in 2022, which included 12 AH-1Z attack helicopters. Although the 2022 deal was initially held up in the US Senate due to rights concerns, procurement of the helicopters is reportedly now underway. When considering the new arms deal, Congress should not treat it as a routine security transaction.
259Foreign Military Sales move articles and services---from American stocks.
AECA 61 — Arms Export Control Act §21, codified at 22 U.S.C. §2761. The Foreign Military Sales authority---the statute under which the executive sells defense articles and services to foreign governments. Office of the Law Revision Counsel, U.S. House of Representatives, "22 U.S. Code §2761 - Sales from stocks," https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title22-section2761&num=0&edition=prelim Clopus
§2761. Sales from stocks
(a) Eligible countries or international organizations; basis of payment; valuation of certain defense articles
(1) The President may sell defense articles and defense services from the stocks of the Department of Defense and the Coast Guard to any eligible country or international organization if such country or international organization agrees to pay in United States dollars-
260The FAA governs the transfer of articles and services from the US---that’s the phrase.
CRS 23 — Congressional Research Service. March 23. Nonpartisan research agency of the U.S. Congress; report R46337, prepared for Members and committees of Congress. Congressional Research Service, "Transfer of Defense Articles: U.S. Sale and Export of U.S.-Made Arms to Foreign Entities," https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R46337 Clopus
The sale of U.S. defense articles to foreign countries is governed by a broad set of statutes, public laws, federal regulations, and executive branch policies, along with international agreements. An interconnected body of legislative provisions, authorizations, and reporting requirements related to the transfer of U.S. defense articles appears in both the National Defense Authorization Acts (NDAA) and in the State Department, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs (SFOPS) Appropriations Acts.3 These laws specify the roles of both the Department of State (DOS) and the Department of Defense (DOD) in the administration of the sale, export, and funding of defense articles to foreign countries, which can be found in both Title 22 (Foreign Relations) and Title 10 (Armed Services) of the *United States Code*.
Congress enacted the current statutory framework for the sale and export of defense articles to other countries mainly through two laws—The Foreign Assistance Act of 1961(FAA), 22 U.S.C. §2151, et seq., and the Arms Export Control Act of 1976 (AECA), 22 U.S.C. §2751, et seq.4 Among other provisions, the FAA established broad policy guidelines for the overall transfer of defense articles and services from the United States to international partners to include both sales and grant transfers, while the AECA also governs the sales of defense articles and services to those entities.
This report describes the major statutory provisions governing the sale and export of defense articles—Foreign Military Sales (FMS) and Direct Commercial Sales (DCS)—and outlines the process through which those sales and exports are made. FMS is the program through which the U.S. government, through interaction with purchasers, acts as a broker to procure defense articles for sales to eligible international partners.5 In DCS, the U.S. government does not act as a broker for the sale, but still must license it, unless export of the item is exempt from licensing according to regulations in the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), contained in Subchapter M, 22 C.F.R. 120-130, described below. The President designates what items are deemed to be defense articles or defense services, and thus subject to DCS licensing, via the U.S. Munitions List (USML). All persons (other than U.S. government personnel performing official duties) engaging in manufacturing, acting as a broker, exporting, or importing defense articles and services must register with the State Department according to ITAR procedures.6
261Commerce agrees---an export is a shipment out of the United States.
EAR 734.13 — Export Administration Regulations, 15 C.F.R. §734.13. Bureau of Industry and Security, U.S. Department of Commerce; the second of the two federal export-control regimes. Code of Federal Regulations, "15 CFR §734.13 - Export," https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-15/subtitle-B/chapter-VII/subchapter-C/part-734/section-734.13 Clopus
§ 734.13 Export.
( a ) Except as set forth in § 734.17 or § 734.18 , Export means:
( 1 ) An actual shipment or transmission out of the United States, including the sending or taking of an item out of the United States, in any manner;
262A move between two foreign countries is a reexport---never a transfer from here.
ITAR 120.51 — International Traffic in Arms Regulations, 22 C.F.R. §120.51. State Department rules implementing the Arms Export Control Act. Code of Federal Regulations, "22 CFR §120.51 - Reexport," https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-22/chapter-I/subchapter-M/part-120/subpart-C/section-120.51 Clopus
§ 120.51 Reexport.
( a ) Reexport, except as set forth in § 120.54 or § 126.16 or § 126.17 of this subchapter , means:
( 1 ) An actual shipment or transmission of a defense article from one foreign country to another foreign country, including the sending or taking of a defense article to or from such countries in any manner;
263An export is a shipment out of the US---or handing control to a foreign person.
ITAR 120.50 — International Traffic in Arms Regulations, 22 C.F.R. §120.50. State Department rules implementing the Arms Export Control Act; the operative regulation for what counts as leaving American hands. Code of Federal Regulations, "22 CFR §120.50 - Export," https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-22/chapter-I/subchapter-M/part-120/subpart-C/section-120.50 Clopus
( a ) Export, except as set forth in § 120.54 or § 126.16 or § 126.17 of this subchapter , means:
( 1 ) An actual shipment or transmission out of the United States, including the sending or taking of a defense article out of the United States in any manner;
( 2 ) Releasing or otherwise transferring technical data to a foreign person in the United States (a deemed export);
( 3 ) Transferring registration, control, or ownership of any aircraft, vessel, or satellite subject to this subchapter by a U.S. person to a foreign person;
264Foreign-origin articles are still defense articles---origin doesn’t control.
ITAR 120.39 — International Traffic in Arms Regulations, 22 C.F.R. §120.39. State Department rules implementing the Arms Export Control Act. Code of Federal Regulations, "22 CFR §120.39 - Foreign defense article or defense service," https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-22/chapter-I/subchapter-M/part-120/subpart-C/section-120.39 Clopus
§ 120.39 Foreign defense article or defense service.
Foreign defense article or defense service means any article or service described on the U.S. Munitions List of non-U.S. origin. Unless otherwise provided in this subchapter, the terms defense article and defense service refer to both U.S. and foreign origin defense articles and defense services described on the U.S. Munitions List. A defense article or defense service is determined exclusively in accordance with the Arms Export Control Act and this subchapter, regardless of any designation (either affirming or contrary) that may be attributed to the same article or service by any foreign government or international organization.
265Retransfer is its own regulatory act---inside one foreign country.
ITAR 120.52 — International Traffic in Arms Regulations, 22 C.F.R. §120.52. State Department rules implementing the Arms Export Control Act. Code of Federal Regulations, "22 CFR §120.52 - Retransfer," https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-22/chapter-I/subchapter-M/part-120/subpart-C/section-120.52 Clopus
§ 120.52 Retransfer.
( a ) Retransfer, except as set forth in § 120.54 or § 126.16 or § 126.17 of this subchapter , means:
( 1 ) A change in end-use or end-user, or a temporary transfer to a third party, of a defense article within the same foreign country; or
266The President controls the export of defense articles---and writes the list.
AECA 78 — Arms Export Control Act §38, codified at 22 U.S.C. §2778. The provision that creates the U.S. Munitions List and gives the President control of arms exports. Office of the Law Revision Counsel, U.S. House of Representatives, "22 U.S. Code §2778 - Control of arms exports and imports," https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title22-section2778&num=0&edition=prelim Clopus
§2778. Control of arms exports and imports
(a) Presidential control of exports and imports of defense articles and services, guidance of policy, etc.; designation of United States Munitions List; issuance of export licenses; negotiations information
(1) In furtherance of world peace and the security and foreign policy of the United States, the President is authorized to control the import and the export of defense articles and defense services and to provide foreign policy guidance to persons of the United States involved in the export and import of such articles and services. The President is authorized to designate those items which shall be considered as defense articles and defense services for the purposes of this section and to promulgate regulations for the import and export of such articles and services. The items so designated shall constitute the United States Munitions List.