Why ordering a foreign battleship is easier than getting one delivered

Could a minor power order a 45,000-ton battleship from Britain, the United States, or France after the treaty system fell apart?

It could place the order, but delivery would depend on whether the major shipbuilding nations had capacity beyond their own urgent programs.

The answer separates legal permission to order a battleship from industrial capacity to deliver it. British and American builders could accept such an order in principle. In practice, their yards might already be struggling to meet domestic wartime or rearmament demand. France would face an even tighter capacity problem, so the customer's ability to place an order would not guarantee a completed ship.