State Department Terminates ITAR Arms Embargo on Ethiopia

On May 11, 2026, the U.S. Department of State’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC) issued a licensing policy change terminating the U.S. arms embargo on Ethiopia. Ethiopia currently is included on the International Traffic in Arms Regulations’ (ITAR) Section 126.1 list, which establishes a general policy denying license requests for any exports or reexports of defense articles and services to certain countries and more limited export restrictions on other countries, such as Ethiopia. The ITAR’s Ethiopia embargo barred licenses for exports of defense articles and services destined for Ethiopia’s military, security, and intelligence entities. DDTC’s announcement functionally revokes this denial policy. DDTC further indicated that it is now reviewing all Ethiopia licensing applications for ITAR-controlled activities on a case-by-case basis.

The State Department formally added Ethiopia to ITAR’s Section 126.1 list in November 2021 following the outbreak of violent conflict and humanitarian crisis in Ethiopia’s Tigray region. At the time, the State Department cited its concerns about “the ongoing crisis in northern Ethiopia as well as other threats to the sovereignty, national unity, and territorial integrity of Ethiopia”, as well as the Ethiopian and Eritrean militaries’ denial of civilian access to humanitarian relief. DDTC likely will issue a formal rule in the near future removing Ethiopia from the Section 126.1 list.

Arnold & Porter will continue to monitor developments in this area. For questions about this change and related national security issues, please contact the authors or their colleagues in Arnold & Porter’s Defense & National Security practice group.

© Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP 2026 All Rights Reserved. This Blog post is intended to be a general summary of the law and does not constitute legal advice. You should consult with counsel to determine applicable legal requirements in a specific fact situation.