US foreign military sales fall slightly to $55.4bn in 2019

• Looser restrictions on sales under the Trump administration had increased foreign military sales by 33 percent from 2017 to 2018.
• There are two major ways foreign governments purchase arms from US companies: direct commercial sales, negotiated between a government and a company; and foreign military sales.

WASHINGTON: Sales of US military equipment to foreign governments fell slightly in the fiscal year ended Sept. 30 to $55.4 billion from $55.6 billion a year earlier, a US official said on Tuesday.

Looser restrictions on sales under the Trump administration had increased foreign military sales by 33 percent from 2017 to 2018.

The Trump administration rolled out a new "Buy American" plan in 2018 that had relaxed restrictions on sales while encouraging US officials to take a bigger role in increasing business overseas for the US weapons industry.

There are two major ways foreign governments purchase arms from US companies: direct commercial sales, negotiated between a government and a company; and foreign military sales, in which a foreign government typically contacts a Department of Defense official at the US embassy in their capital. Both require approval by the US government.

The largest US arms contractors include Boeing Co, Lockheed Martin Corp, Raytheon Co, General Dynamics Corp and Northrop Grumman Corp.