To prohibit the issuance of licenses for the exportation of certain defense articles to the United Arab Emirates, and for other purposes.

What happened: Representative Jacobs (D-CA) introduced HR2059 on March 11, 2025. The bill has been referred to the House Foreign Affairs Committee and has 32 cosponsors. A companion bill (S935) exists in the Senate. The bill is in early legislative stages with only referral actions to date, meaning it has a long path to passage. No committee hearings or markups have occurred yet. The bill targets UAE defense sales specifically due to the UAE's alleged provision of materiel support to the Rapid Support Forces in Sudan—a foreign policy concern that has gained bipartisan attention. Money trail: HR2059 is a prohibition bill—it does not authorize or appropriate any funding. Its economic impact is the elimination of future revenue from defense export sales to the UAE. There is no dollar amount in the bill because it stops licenses, not spends money. The UAE has been one of the largest foreign buyers of U.S. defense equipment, with active deals including F-35s, F-15EXs, THAAD, Patriot, and advanced munitions. Blocking these sales directly reduces the backlog and revenue outlook for multiple defense primes. The UAE purchased approximately $22 billion in U.S. defense equipment from 2010-2020, and a $23 billion F-35 deal was announced in 2021 but later stalled. This bill would formalize a permanent prohibition on restarting those negotiations. Structural winners and losers: The clear losers are defense primes with large UAE exposure. Lockheed Martin ($LMT) is most exposed through the F-35 (potential $10B+ sale) and THAAD systems. Boeing ($BA) has an active F-15EX sales campaign to the UAE worth potentially $8-10 billion. RTX ($RTX) sells Patriot systems and munitions worth multiple billions. General Dynamics ($GD) supplies armored vehicles. Northrop Grumman ($NOC) has smaller but measurable exposure. There are no direct winners from this bill—it is a pure restriction on commerce. However, domestic-only defense programs or companies not reliant on Middle East exports face relative neutrality; their U.S. contracts remain unaffected. Real market data: Lockheed Martin ($LMT) has seen severe selling pressure, currently at $512.29 from $611.10 on April 15—a 30-day decline of -16.81% and 7-day decline of -7.77%. This selloff predates and amplifies beyond this specific bill, indicating broader defense sector weakness or rotation on geopolitical headlines. RTX ($RTX) similarly dropped from $198.39 to $175.68 over 30 days (-7.4%). General Dynamics ($GD) fell from $338.88 to $313.68 over 30 days (-9.54%). Boeing ($BA) is an outlier with a 30-day gain of +21.1% reflecting different commercial aerospace dynamics. The broader 30-day defense selloff may already price in some UAE/geopolitical risk, but HR2059 is early-stage and not yet a driver—legislative risk is real but distant. Timeline: HR2059 requires committee markup, House floor vote, Senate passage (S935 companion bill), and presidential signature. Given the 119th Congress's divided control and the Hamas-Israel war reordering Middle East alliances, this bill faces significant geopolitical headwinds and timelines before becoming law. The UAE is a major U.S. ally and has normalized relations with Israel—many Republicans and some Democrats oppose blocking UAE arms sales. Near-term: this is a legislative risk requiring monitoring, not an immediate market event.