On November 18, 2025, President Donald Trump announced that he designated the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) as a major non-NATO ally.
Once implemented, the status change will make KSA eligible for an increased range of benefits with respect to defense trade and security cooperation with the United States. It will also streamline certain requirements related to direct commercial sales of defense articles that are subject to the US International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), particularly for space-related activities.
In this alert, we provide a brief overview of the “major non-NATO ally” status designation process and key implications under the ITAR for businesses.
Overview of “major non-NATO ally” status designation process
Per 22 U.S.C. 2321(k), the President can designate a country a major non-NATO ally for purposes of the Arms Export Control Act (the ITAR’s primary statutory authority) by submitting a notification in writing to Congress at least 30 days beforehand. Generally, such designations are published in the Federal Register (see, e.g., Designation of Kenya as a Major Non-NATO Ally).
Subsequently, the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC) will then publish a final rule amending the ITAR’s definition of “major non-NATO ally” (ITAR § 120.23(b)) to add the new country to the list of those that have been designated as major non-NATO allies.
Not including KSA, the following countries are currently designated as major non-NATO allies: Argentina, Australia, Bahrain, Brazil, Colombia, Egypt, Israel, Japan, Jordan, Kenya, Kuwait, Morocco, New Zealand, Pakistan, the Philippines, Qatar, the Republic of Korea, Thailand, and Tunisia. In addition, while Taiwan has not been formally designated as a major non-NATO ally, under the ITAR, it is treated as though it were designated a major non-NATO ally pursuant to § 1206 of the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Year 2003.
Separately, the Secretary of Defense, with the concurrence of the Secretary of State, can designate a country as a major non-NATO ally for the purposes of 10 U.S.C. 2350(a).
Practical impacts of increased US–KSA government-to-government defense trade activity
Privileges resulting from “major non-NATO ally” designation under 22 U.S.C. § 2321(k) can include:
- Eligibility for loans of material, supplies, or equipment for cooperative research, development, testing, or evaluation purposes
- Eligibility as a location for US-owned war reserve stockpiles to be placed on its territory outside US military facilities, and
- The ability to enter into agreements with the US for the cooperative furnishing of training on a bilateral or multilateral basis.
Privileges resulting from major non-NATO ally designation under 10 U.S.C. § 2350(a) can include:
- Eligibility to enter into a memorandum of understanding or other formal agreement with the US Department of Defense (DOD) for the purposes of conducting cooperative research and development projects on defense equipment and munitions
- The ability for entities in major non-NATO ally countries to bid on contracts for maintenance, repair, or overhaul of DOD equipment outside of the US, and
- Authorization of funding to support the procurement of explosive detection devices and other counter-terrorism research and development projects.
The increased government-to-government cooperation in the above-described areas will likely result in more opportunities for companies to leverage the ITAR § 126.4(b) exemption to support the end-goals of the US–KSA cooperative efforts.
Practical space defense trade impacts
Designation as a major non-NATO ally results in the following direct commercial sale defense trade benefits for KSA:
- DDTC is no longer required to apply the special export controls described in ITAR § 124.15 for exports of defense articles and defense services relating to space systems and space launches in or by nationals of KSA – though DDTC retains the discretion to apply such special controls.
- US exporters of specifically designed or modified components, systems, parts, accessories, attachments, associated equipment, and certain associated technical data for commercial communications satellites can now use the ITAR § 123.27 expedited approval process to export such defense articles to KSA.
Conclusion
To date, neither President Trump’s formal designation nor DDTC’s rule have been published in the Federal Register. However, the announcement that KSA has been designated a major non-NATO ally signals that additional flexibilities under the ITAR will be made available for those conducting space-related direct commercial sales defense trade with KSA.
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