By Cliff Montgomery – Oct. 26th, 2009
The United States was responsible for over 70% of the industrial world’s arms transfer agreements withdeveloping nations in 2008 , reveals a Congressional Research Service study released in September.
The American Spark below provides the summary from the full, eye-opening report:
“This report is prepared annually to provide Congress with official, unclassified, quantitative data onconventional arms transfers to developing nations by the United States and foreign countries for the precedingeight calendar years for use in its policy oversight functions.
“All agreement and delivery data in this report for the United States are government-to-government ForeignMilitary Sales (FMS) transactions. Similar data are provided on worldwide conventional arms transfers by allsuppliers, but the principal focus is the level of arms transfers by major weapons suppliers to nations in thedeveloping world.
“Developing nations continue to be the primary focus of foreign arms sales activity by weapons suppliers.During the years 2001-2008, the value of arms transfer agreements with developing nations comprised 64.8%of all such agreements worldwide. More recently, arms transfer agreements with developing nationsconstituted 69.2% of all such agreements globally from 2005-2008, and 76.4% of these agreements in 2008.
“The value of all arms transfer agreements with developing nations in 2008 was nearly $42.2 billion. This was anominal increase from $41.1 billion in 2007.”In 2008, the value of all arms deliveries to developing nations was nearly $18.3 billion, the lowest total in thesedeliveries values for the entire 2001-2008 period (in constant 2008 dollars), and only slightly below the 2007total.
“Recently, from 2005-2008, the United States and Russia have dominated the arms market in the developingworld, with both nations either ranking first or second for three out of four years in the value of arms transferagreements. From 2005-2008, Russia made nearly $35.1 billion, 22.9% of all such agreements, expressed inconstant 2008 dollars.
“During this same period, the United States made $56.3 billion in such agreements, 36.7% of all suchagreements. Collectively, the United States and Russia made 59.6% of all arms transfer agreements withdeveloping nations ($91.4 billion (in constant 2008 dollars) during this four-year period.
“In 2008, the United States ranked first in arms transfer agreements with developing nations with $29.6 billionor 70.1% of these agreements, an extraordinary market share for a single year.
“Far behind in second place was Russia with $3.3 billion or 7.8% of such agreements.
“France was ranked third with $2.5 billion or 5.9%.
“In global arms transfer agreements in 2008, the United States also dominated, ranking first with $37.8 billionin such agreements or 68.4% of all such agreements.
“In 2008, the United States ranked first in the value of arms deliveries to developing nations at $7.4 billion, or40.9% of all such deliveries. Russia ranked second at $5.2 billion or 28.5% of such deliveries.
“In 2008, the United Arab Emirates ranked first in the value of arms transfer agreements among all developingnations weapons purchasers, concluding $9.7 billion in such agreements. Saudi Arabia ranked second with$8.7 billion in such agreements. Morocco ranked third with $5.4 billion.”
