Trump Says U.S. Is Backing Out of Arms-Trade Treaty

President Trump said Friday he would withdraw the U.S. as a signatory to a global arms treaty that President Obama supported but Congress never ratified.

“We will never surrender American sovereignty to anyone,” Mr. Trump declared at a speech before the National Rifle Association in Indianapolis.

The Arms Trade Treaty seeks to regulate the international sale of conventional weapons. It was approved by the United Nations General Assembly in 2013 and signed that year by Mr. Obama, but the pact has never been ratified by Congress. Mr. Trump signed a letter Friday asking the Senate to simply return the unratified document to the White House.

The NRA, a key backer of Mr. Trump’s 2016 campaign, was a leading opponent of the treaty, arguing it could impinge on the rights of American gun owners.