A treaty ceiling can also become a naval budget floor

Naval limitation treaties can do more than restrict fleet size. Agreed ceilings can restrain an expensive Anglo-American arms race and create some confidence about what other powers intend to build. The same published limits also give a navy a politically recognised benchmark: falling far below it can be described as accepting weakness relative to the treaty standard. A ceiling can therefore function as a budget floor when naval leaders argue for the force already accepted in international negotiations.