Trade: Arms & the Salesman

Devising major modern weapons has become such an expensive business that few nations can afford to get into it alone. Result: many of them in the free world are coming shopping in the U.S. The trend not only saves them a lot of money but creates business for U.S. corporations and helps the U.S. balance of payments problem by partially offsetting the high cost of the American military presence around the world. Last week even Britain put the pressure of escalating defense costs ahead of national pride; the Labor government decided to...