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Events • April 1, 2022 

# Reducing Risk from Arms Sales 

The United States remains the world’s dominant exporter of weapons. Between 2017–2021, the U.S. share of the global arms market was 108 percent greater than that of Russia, which is the second-largest exporter. Since 2009, the United States has approved more than $1 trillion in weapons sales and delivered roughly $736 billion worth of weapons to 167 countries during the Obama, Trump, and Biden administrations.

A new Cato Institute update to the [*Arms Sales Risk Index*](https://www.cato.org/study/2021-arms-sales-risk-index) evaluates the risk that these exports create for global human rights, international stability, and U.S. security.

Representative Sara Jacobs (D‑CA), Cato’s Jordan Cohen, and Jeff Abramson from the Arms Control Association will discuss the *2021 Arms Sales Risk Index* and current efforts to weigh and mitigate risks that the sale of U.S. weapons can pose. The discussion will be moderated by Cato’s Eric Gomez.

![2021 Arms Sales Risk Index - promo block](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/promo_block_book_cover_1x/public/2022-03/promo-block-guns.jpg?itok=UVFfxqDJ) 

##### Related Study 

### [2021 Arms Sales Risk Index](https://www.cato.org/study/2021-arms-sales-risk-index)

To promote debate and help improve U.S. decision-making about arms sales, we created the *Arms Sales Risk Index*, now in its fourth year. By measuring the factors linked to negative outcomes of arms sales, such as dispersion, diversion, and the misuse of weapons by recipients, the index provides a way to assess the risk involved with selling arms to another nation.

[Read the Study](https://www.cato.org/study/2021-arms-sales-risk-index) 

[![Creative Commons License](/build/cato_2020/images/creative-commons.svg)](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/) 
This work is licensed under a [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/). 

##### Featuring 

![Rep. Sara Jacobs (D-CA)](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/author_picture/public/2022-03/s-Jacobs-cropped.jpg?itok=b5TzWyUL) 

##### Rep. Sara Jacobs (D‑CA) 

U.S. Representative for California’s 53rd Congressional District

![Jeff Abramson](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/author_picture/public/2022-04/John-Abramson.jpg?itok=W3xXMEz3) 

##### Jeff Abramson 

Senior Fellow, Arms Control Association

[![Jordan Cohen cropped portrait](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/author_picture/public/2023-05/jordan-cohen-Cropped.jpg?itok=1iRlZzqH)](/people/jordan-cohen) 

##### [Jordan Cohen](/people/jordan-cohen)

Former Policy Analyst, Cato Institute

[ 

](https://twitter.com/jbcohen92) 

[![Eric Gomez-cropped](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/author_picture/public/2023-08/eric-gomez-cropped.jpg?itok=lFY_NkC8)](/people/eric-gomez) 

##### [Eric Gomez](/people/eric-gomez)

Senior Fellow, Defense and Foreign Policy, Cato Institute

[ 

](https://x.com/EricGomezAsia) [ 

](mailto:egomez@cato.org)