Trump Orders Push for New Arms Control Deals With Russia and China

Officials concede that the plans are in an early stage, but President Trump has ordered them to start preparing a new push to try to establish a new round of arms control treaties with both Russia and China.

Part of the plan is related to Trump’s concerns about how much all the proposals to create new nuclear weapons are going to cost, though it seems that the main goal is to place new limits on the Russian nuclear arsenal.

Getting a new round of talks going may be difficult after the US unilaterally withdrew from the Intermediate Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty. That move is likely to raise concerns, particularly in Russia, that the US is only looking for a very one-sided deal.

Trump’s talk of broader limits on military spending across the three nations is even more ambitious, but it also has both Russian and Chinese officials expressing interest. The US, after all, spends vastly more than the other two nations, and this is the first indication Trump has given that he’s given any consideration to not just growing spending annually.