More recently, the administration’s latest National Security Strategy stressed a reduction in overseas burdens, giving little attention to security cooperation while positioning arms sales as the go-to instrument for offsetting the United States’ relinquishment of foreign security commitments. In sum, President Trump has made a new, more commercial, transactional, and liberal approach to arms transfers a fixture of U.S. foreign policy. Looking Ahead: Changing Approaches to U.S. Arms TransfersSince taking office, President Trump has adopted a far more transactional, commercialized approach to arms transfers and security cooperation. As previously mentioned, in 2025, President Trump reinstated his 2018 Conventional Arms Transfer policy, a presidential directive outlining the whole-of-government approach to arms transfers. At the same time, the President has accelerated efforts to reduce regulatory and oversight structures for arms transfers.