Our allies and partners want to “buy American.” They know U.S. industries produce the most technologically sophisticated and effective defense systems in the world. When our allies and partners are better equipped to defend themselves, there is greater regional peace and stability ? and far less need for American service members to be in harm’s way.

For too long, we have made it too hard to provide our allies and partners with the defense capabilities they require and that are in America’s interests. That’s why the Trump administration announced Thursday two landmark policies aimed at reforming the international sale of U.S.-produced arms and the export of unmanned aerial systems (UAS).

As Mr. Trump works to balance our trade with the rest of the world, further strengthening a critical part of our export economy and defense industrial base is a logical and critical step.

The international sale of American-made military and commercial UAS offers an important tool to take this step. The UAS sector represents one of the most dynamic emerging areas of defense technology.

Although the U.S. leads the way in UAS technology, overly restrictive policies enacted by the previous administration have accelerated an undesirable outcome: Strategic competitors like China are aggressively marketing to and making sales in international markets that are forecast to be worth more than $50 billion a year within the next decade.

The Trump administration’s UAS export policy will level the playing field by enabling U.S. firms to undertake direct sales to authorized allies and partners. By expanding international sales opportunities, American industry will be further incentivized to do what it does best ? invest and innovate. This will keep our defense industrial base in the vanguard of emerging defense technologies.