Title 22Foreign Relations and IntercourseRelease 119-73not60

§2754 Purposes for Which Military Sales or Leases by the United States Are Authorized; Report to Congress

Title 22 › Chapter 39— ARMS EXPORT CONTROL › Subchapter I— FOREIGN AND NATIONAL SECURITY POLICY OBJECTIVES AND RESTRAINTS › § 2754

Last updated Apr 5, 2026|Official source

Summary

The United States can sell or lease military equipment and services to friendly countries only for specific reasons. These reasons include internal security, real self-defense, stopping the spread of weapons of mass destruction and their delivery systems, letting a country join regional or U.N. peace efforts, or helping foreign forces in less developed friendly countries build public works and support economic and social development. Congress thinks foreign military forces should not exist only for civic projects, and those projects must not hurt the forces’ military ability and should fit into overall development work. No money from this authorization may be used to guarantee or extend credit for sales of sophisticated weapons systems, such as missile systems and jet aircraft for military use, to any underdeveloped country except Greece, Turkey, Iran, Israel, the Republic of China, the Philippines, and Korea, unless the President decides the financing is important to U.S. national security and reports each such decision to Congress within 30 days.

Full Legal Text

Title 22, §2754

Foreign Relations and Intercourse — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

Defense articles and defense services shall be sold or leased by the United States Government under this chapter to friendly countries solely for internal security, for legitimate self-defense, for preventing or hindering the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and of the means of delivering such weapons, to permit the recipient country to participate in regional or collective arrangements or measures consistent with the Charter of the United Nations, or otherwise to permit the recipient country to participate in collective measures requested by the United Nations for the purpose of maintaining or restoring international peace and security, or for the purpose of enabling foreign military forces in less developed friendly countries to construct public works and to engage in other activities helpful to the economic and social development of such friendly countries. It is the sense of the Congress that such foreign military forces should not be maintained or established solely for civic action activities and that such civic action activities not significantly detract from the capability of the military forces to perform their military missions and be coordinated with and form part of the total economic and social development effort: Provided, That none of the funds contained in this authorization shall be used to guarantee, or extend credit, or participate in an extension of credit in connection with any sale of sophisticated weapons systems, such as missile systems and jet aircraft for military purposes, to any underdeveloped country other than Greece, Turkey, Iran, Israel, the Republic of China, the Philippines and Korea unless the President determines that such financing is important to the national security of the United States and reports within thirty days each such determination to the Congress.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

This chapter, referred to in text, was in the original “this Act”, meaning Pub. L. 90–629, Oct. 22, 1968, 82 Stat. 1321, which is classified principally to this chapter. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see

Short Title

note set out under section 2751 of this title and Tables.

Amendments

2002—Pub. L. 107–228 inserted “for preventing or hindering the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and of the means of delivering such weapons,” after “legitimate self-defense,” in first sentence. 1981—Pub. L. 97–113 substituted “sold or leased” for “sold” in first sentence.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

Section effective July 1, 1968, see section 41 of Pub. L. 90–629, set out as a note under section 2751 of this title.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

22 U.S.C. § 2754

Title 22Foreign Relations and Intercourse

Last Updated

Apr 5, 2026

Release point: 119-73not60