Arms Makers Eye Exports to Offset Pentagon Cuts

With US politicians up in arms over deficits and debt, defense manufacturers anticipate sharp budget reductions for the US Department of Defense. US spending on defense nearly doubled in the decade following the 9/11 attacks, but even hardline politicians have expressed a new willingness to reduce defense spending, which makes up about 20 percent of the federal budget. Without incoming orders, some plants and specific production lines could shut down. So politicians with defense plants in their districts push for quick sales of equipment to allies, including South Korea and Taiwan, reports Jim Wolf for Reuters. “Economic arguments in favor of sensitive arms sales may gain traction as the U.S. jobless rate is stuck above 9 percent and campaigning for the 2012 elections is starting in earnest,” writes Wolf. Some nations, opposing sales to neighboring nations, argue that more weapons can destabilize troubled regions. Another complicating factor: Some sales require waivers from the Missile Technology Control Regime, a voluntary multinational arms-control pact. – YaleGlobal