OAN Newsroom
UPDATED 7:35 AM PT — Tues. August 14, 2018
The sale of U.S. military equipment to global partners continues to soar despite concerns over a trade war.
On Monday, new figures showed weapon orders already reached $63 billion this year alone, which is 50-percent higher than all of 2017 combined.
While heightened trade tensions are sparking negotiations among the U.S. and its allies, experts say there are no signs military sales are being used as leverage in those talks.
Soldiers from the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division train on a firing range at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. (Mark Humphrey/AP file)
Trade officials are now hopeful surging sales will have a big impact on more than just the economy.
“The race we are actually running, is a race for global influence and for 50 years the Unites States has set the standard for the race in global influence,” stated Dak Hardwick of the Aerospace Industries Association. “The question that we have — and we think by some of these reforms we see are coming as part of the national implementation plan — is who is going to make the rules for global influence for the next 50 years?”
The U.S. faces major competition from both Russia and China as it seeks to corner the market on international sales of military equipment.
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