The U.S. has suspended arms exports worth over $5 billion to NATO allies and Ukraine due to the shutdown. Axios reports this citing the U.S. State Department.
"This is really harmful to both our allies and partners and to American industry," a senior State Department official told the publication.
He specified that the supplies include weapons such as AMRAAM missiles, Aegis combat systems, and HIMARS for Denmark, Croatia, and Poland. The article notes that the final destination of the exports is not precisely known, but "the sale of weapons to NATO allies is often listed as assistance to Ukraine."
According to the official, the unfinished deals involve both the sale of weapons directly from the U.S. government to allies and the licensing of U.S. private defense companies for export.
The publication writes that the Arms Export Control Act requires Congress to review proposals for arms sales, but many State Department employees responsible for briefing Congressional committee staff are on leave due to the shutdown, which has caused the problem.
As one senior official explained, last month only about a quarter of the usual staff was working in the Bureau of Political-Military Affairs to support arms sales.
"Democrats are blocking the sale of critically important weapons, particularly to our NATO allies, which harms the U.S. industrial base and jeopardizes our security and the security of our partners," said bureau representative Tommy Pigott.
Shutdown in the U.S.
As reported by UNIAN, at the beginning of October, for the first time in seven years, the U.S. plunged into a shutdown. The reason is that Congress failed to pass a government funding bill by the start of the new fiscal year. Negotiations between Republicans and Democrats stalled over subsidies for health insurance.
Media reports indicated that due to the shutdown, the White House is preparing mass layoffs in several agencies. U.S. President Donald Trump, after a meeting with Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought, stated on his social media platform Truth Social that they are considering "which of the many pro-democratic agencies" should be cut and whether these measures will be temporary or permanent.
It was also noted that in the U.S., support for Democrats is sharply increasing due to the prolonged shutdown. According to NBC News, which conducted its own sociological survey, more voters believe that President Donald Trump has not met their expectations on several key issues that helped him return to the White House in 2024.
