Code of Conduct Arms Transfer Act

On June 10th, the House of Representatives approved an amendment to the State Department Authorization bill that represents the first major reform of U.S. arms trading policy in twenty years.

The amendment, entitled the Arms Transfers Code of Conduct, requires the President to identify those countries that are either undemocratic, abusers of human rights, involved in acts of armed aggression, or are not members of the U.N. register on conventional arms. Congress then has the option of enacting legislation disapproving certain countries for U.S. weapons transfers.

The U.S. has a responsibility to lead a growing international movement to curb such transfers, particularly since U.S. arms sales far exceed those of all other countries. In the western world, only the United States and France remain uncommitted to a code of conduct. In four recent deployments of U.S. forces — Panama, Iraq, Somalia and Haiti — our armed forces faced opposing armies strengthened by U.S. military material, resulting in 453 deaths. World leaders who embrace ideologies and engage in activities that run counter to our own, should not be given U.S. weapons to further their agendas.