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Table 1

U.S. Government Subsidies for Arms Exports, FY96

(annualized average, in millions of dollars)

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Agency

Expenditure

Financing and Aid Programs

U.S. Department of Defense

Foreign military financing

3,317.8

Defense Export Loan Guarantee funda

16.7

Forgiven/bad loans

1,000.0

Excess defense articles/emergency drawdowns

750.0

No-cost leases of U.S. equipment

63.2

Repeal or waiver of recoupment fees

200.0

U.S. Agency for International Development: Economic Support Fundsb

2,042.3

Export-Import Bank Loansc

33.7

________

Subtotal

7,423.7

Promotional and Support Programs

U.S. Departments of Defense, State, and Commerce

Government personnel costs for promotion/supportd

410.0

Government support for air shows/weapons

34.2

______

Subtotal

444.2

Total: All U.S. government support for arms sales

7,867.9

More than half

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Sources: U.S. Departments of Defense, State, and Commerce; U.S. Export-Import Bank; U.S. Agency for

of U.S. arms sales

International Development; and the Congressional Budget Office. For further details on sources and methodology for

are now being

Table 1, see William D. Hartung, Welfare for Weapons Dealers 1998: The Hidden Costs of NATO Expansion (New

York: World Policy Institute, March 1998), www.worldpolicy.org.

financed by U.S.

a Subsidy value of loans guaranteed to date.

taxpayers--not by

b The figure cited represents only $2 billion of the $2.3 billion in Economic Support Funds for 1996. The remainder

foreign arms

of that aid was not an offset for the costs of weapons purchases by major buyers of U.S. arms, such as Egypt and

Israel.

clients.

c Represents the subsidy value.

d To support 6,300 personnel at the Pentagon and State and Commerce Departments.

in the form of taxpayer-backed loans, grants,

Turkey, Colombia, and the now-defunct

and promotional activities that help the con-

Mobutu regime in Zaire, could never have

tractors sell their wares to foreign customers.

afforded to buy costly armaments from U.S.

Many of those U.S. arms clients, such as

companies without U.S. government support.

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