New Arms Export Bill Mandates 45-Day Approval for 'Priority' Allies, Streamlining Defense Sales

This bill, the International Traffic in Arms Regulations Licensing Reform Act, is all about speeding up how the U.S. government approves the sale of defense equipment and services (like weapons, technology, and training) to foreign countries. Essentially, it creates an express lane for allies deemed critical to national security, forcing the State Department to make a decision—approve, deny, or send back—on their export applications within a tight 45-day window. For everyone else, the clock is set at 60 days. This is a big deal for U.S. defense contractors who rely on fast government approval to close multi-million dollar deals overseas.

The VIP List for Defense Buyers

Section 2 requires the Secretary of State to create a 'Priority List' of countries and specific end-users—like a particular foreign military unit or government agency—whose defense export applications must be fast-tracked. This list must be established within 90 days of the bill becoming law and sent to Congress. Think of it like a global security VIP pass: if you’re on the list, your application gets priority processing because the U.S. views you as a crucial national security partner. The catch here is that the criteria for getting on this list are broad, relying on the Secretary's determination of 'national security importance.' This means the list could potentially be influenced by political considerations or intense lobbying, rather than just objective security needs, creating a two-tiered system among U.S. allies.

Putting the Clock on Bureaucracy

Section 3 sets the new, mandatory deadlines for the State Department’s decision-making process. If a U.S. defense company wants to sell a drone system to a country on the new Priority List, the government has 45 days to approve or reject the deal. If that same company wants to sell to a country not on the list, the deadline is 60 days. For U.S. manufacturers, this predictability is gold. It means less time waiting in regulatory limbo, which translates directly into lower overhead costs and quicker sales. However, these deadlines can be paused. The clock stops if Congress is actively trying to block the sale or if the Department of Defense (DoD) needs extra time for a security review or assessing the release of sensitive technology. The DoD’s ability to pause the clock for 'security reviews' is a key escape hatch, potentially allowing delays for politically sensitive sales while still technically complying with the law.

Who’s Watching the Watchers?

To keep the process accountable, Section 4 mandates semi-annual reports to Congress detailing every single application that misses the new 45- or 60-day deadlines. For every delayed application, the report must explain why it was late, what was being sold, and who the buyer was. This is a huge win for transparency, giving Congress a clear picture of where the bureaucratic bottlenecks are occurring—whether it’s the State Department, the DoD, or elsewhere. While this means more paperwork for the State Department, it also means that decision-makers can’t just let applications sit on their desks indefinitely without having to publicly account for the delay. The risk, however, is that Congressional committees might get flooded with detailed reports, making it hard to spot the truly critical delays among the sheer volume of data.