The United States Has Lifted Its Arms Embargo on Ethiopia

The United States has lifted the arms embargo it applied to Ethiopia, according to a report by Tikvah Ethiopia citing the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC) at the US Department of State.

The DDTC administers the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), the licensing regime that governs the export of defence articles and services from the United States. Lifting a country-specific restrictive policy means applications involving that country return to ordinary ITAR handling rather than being weighed against a standing policy of denial.

Why it matters

A country-level restriction under ITAR reaches further than government-to-government weapons sales. It touches defence-adjacent exports, technical data and services, and it is visible to insurers, banks and freight handlers who price the risk of dealing with a restricted destination. Its removal changes that signal.

Open

The report does not give the date the change took effect, quote the text of the DDTC notice, or link to a Federal Register entry. No Ethiopian government comment appears in it, and no scope is given for what the policy covered or what it now permits.

Until the notice itself is on the record, treat this as reported rather than documented.

Sources: Tikvah Ethiopia, 19 September 2026