Over 60 countries sign multibillion-dollar arms trade treaty

According to the UN, more than 60 countries have already signed the landmark treaty regulating global arms trade. US announced it will sign soon.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry made a statement where he said the US — the world's largest arms dealer — will sign the treaty which ultimate strength rests upon support by all major arms exporters and importers.

The Arms Trade Treaty "will not undermine the legitimate international trade in conventional weapons, interfere with national sovereignty, or infringe on the rights of American citizens, including our Second Amendment rights" to bear arms, Kerry said.
What impact the treaty will have in curbing the global arms trade — estimated at between $60 billion and $85 billion — remains to be seen. A lot will depend on which ones ratify and which ones don't, and how stringently it is implemented once it comes into force.
The treaty covers tanks, armored combat vehicles, large-caliber artillery, combat aircraft, attack helicopters, warships, missiles and missile launchers, as well as the vast trade in small arms.

The start of signing was described as an “extremely important milestone” by ministers and other representatives of Argentina, Australia, Britain, Costa Rice, Finland, Japan and Kenya, which sponsored the first 2006 U.N. resolution calling for treaty talks.