On May 31, the United States sent its annual submission to the UN Register of Conventional Arms, reporting on U.S. conventional arms exports and imports for 2000. For the third consecutive year, the U.S. export total, 1,637 weapons, marked a decrease from the previous year. (Washington reported 1,839 exports for 1999.) The total also stands as the lowest sum ever reported by the United States during the register’s history. For both 1992 and 1995, the United States reported more than 5,000 exports.

Established by the UN secretary-general in January 1992 with the goal of increasing transparency in the global arms market, the register calls on countries to voluntarily report their annual exports and imports in seven categories of conventional weapons: battle tanks, armored combat vehicles, large-caliber artillery, combat aircraft, attack helicopters, warships, and missiles and missile launchers. States may also elect to submit data on domestic military holdings and procurement through national production, as well as information on export policies.

Two dozen countries, including Taiwan, received U.S. weapons last year, according to the U.S. register submission. As in the previous two years, Europe ranked as the top regional destination with nine countries receiving 654 U.S. arms imports, nearly 80 percent of which were missiles and missile launchers. With the receipt of 394 U.S. weapons, including 303 large-caliber artillery systems, Egypt led all importers. Finland and Turkey ranked second and third.

Washington reported a total of 146 imports, all of which were missiles. The United States imported 142 Popeye air-to-surface precision strike missiles from Israel and four AGM-119 anti-ship missiles from Norway. —For more information, contact Wade Boese.