America’s arms-sales policies are too restrictive, leading even some pro-U.S. countries to buy weapons from Russia and China. This year’s National Defense Authorization Act would give Defense Secretary Jim Mattis authority to waive certain new restrictions for specific countries enacted by Congress last year. But the problem is more fundamental: The U.S. arms-sale regime needs to be recalibrated to protect American influence in a highly competitive geopolitical environment.
The U.S. government blocks weapons sales to foreign...