Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen has called for the U.S. to approve an order for M-1 Abrams tanks and F-16 fighter jets to “show the world the U.S. commitment to Taiwan’s defense”. The approval of such an order could easily derail U.S.-China relations at a time when trade negotiations are close to completion. Yet, the order is much needed by the U.S. defense export industry. State Department approvals for export orders fell 16.6% year over year in 2018 to $48.1 billion, the lowest since at least 2015. The start of 2019 is also looking slow with a 36.7% drop year over year. ...