{"id":30125,"date":"2020-06-15T19:50:31","date_gmt":"2020-06-15T19:50:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2020\/06\/15\/will-us-foreign-military-sales-catch-the-coronavirus\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T22:29:48","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T22:29:48","slug":"will-us-foreign-military-sales-catch-the-coronavirus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/congress\/2020\/06\/15\/will-us-foreign-military-sales-catch-the-coronavirus\/","title":{"rendered":"Will US foreign military sales catch the coronavirus?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WASHINGTON \u2015 Economic shock waves from the coronavirus pandemic are threatening U.S. arms sales to its allies and partners, who may suddenly have less to spend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

U.S. defense exports, through either the Foreign Military Sales process (which is government-facilitated) or the Direct Commercial Sales process (from a firm to a nation), are a means for the U.S. to strengthen ties with friendly countries and, as President Donald Trump likes to make explicit, pump revenue<\/a> into the U.S. economy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Though the U.S. made $55 billion<\/a> in foreign military sales in fiscal 2019, observers see headwinds in declining oil prices and the potential for allies to prioritize their domestic response to COVID-19 over defense spending.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Middle East is a leading market, and Saudi Arabia the world\u2019s leading purchaser. But the falling price of crude oil has fueled projections that Gulf Cooperation Council budgets will shrink, and with them demand for U.S. weapons. To boot, a Saudi-initiated oil price war has only added to Capitol Hill\u2019s ire toward the kingdom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arms sales to Saudi Arabia reentered Congress\u2019 crosshairs as lawmakers probed<\/a> Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for firing of a State Department inspector general who\u2019d been investigating Pompeo for bypassing a congressional freeze on arms sales to the kingdom. Previous objections to the sale centered around Riyadh\u2019s role in Yemen\u2019s civil war and \u2014 U.S. intelligence agencies believe \u2015 the death of columnist Jamal Khashoggi<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think the trends are a bit worrisome,\u201d Roman Schweizer, the managing editor of Cowen Washington Research Group, said during a Defense One event. \u201cThe Saudis have been in the penalty box with the U.S. Congress since the Khashoggi killing, and most recently with the overproduction of crude oil. … So getting a deal though the U.S. Senate for the Saudis are probably a bridge too far.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t