Trump admin moves to allow more exports of US-made weapons overseas in new EO: report

The Trump administration is reportedly preparing an executive order to east rules on the export of military equipment and could be announced as early as Tuesday or Wednesday.

According to Reuters, the order is expected to be similar to a bill that was proposed by National Security Advisor Mike Waltz when he was a member of the House of Representatives last year.

The bill which was backed by Waltz last year amended the US Arms Export Control Act which would have increased the dollar amount threshold that triggers a review from Congress to before weapons are sent to other nations.

The bill, if it had become law, would have increase the amount from $14 million to $23 million regarding arms transfers and for sale of military equipment, upgrades, and other services, the amount would have increase to $83 million from $50 million.

Under current law, transfers of weapons to NATO members, such as Japan, Israel, and South Korea, is at a higher dollar threshold amount than those outside of NATO. Congress also must be notified of the transfers needing review 30 days beforehand, but only 15 days for those that are in NATO.

This comes as the Trump administration is attempting to broker a deal between Russia and Ukraine in the war that has been going on since 2022. The order may also increase sales for defense contractors that work with the government.

After some back and forth with Ukraine and the White House, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that he is ready for a ceasefire in the region. However, Trump has said that he has become "pissed off" with Russian President Vladimir Putin over the negotiations, and has threatened to impose 25 percent tariffs on “all oil coming out of Russia," Forbes reported.