Friday the Department of Commerce released an interim final rule amending the Department’s licensing policy for exports of firearms, ammunition, and related components under its jurisdiction.
Coming on the six-month anniversary of a controversial "90 day pause" in firearms export license approval, the new rule proposes significant changes.
"Too often, firearms exports fall into the wrong hands and end up being used in ways that directly undermine U.S. national security and foreign policy interests.," said Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, announcing the proposed rule.
"To combat this, we’re taking strategic, targeted actions, including restricting exports to commercial entities in high-risk countries and increasing scrutiny and tracking of all firearms exports,”
The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), representing American firearms manufacturers, objected to the proposed rules:
"This is deeply troubling the lengths to which this administration will go to turn the levers of government against a Constitutionally-protected industry in order to cozy up to special-interest gun control donors,” said Lawrence Keane, NSSF Senior Vice President & General Counsel. "This is a wholesale attack on the industry that provides the means for Americans exercising their Second Amendment rights.,"
"The total economic impact of the Interim Final Rule easily exceeds $250 million to U.S. manufacturers and exporters, far above the farcically low estimates BIS has been telling NSSF and the Hill," Keane continued.
According to The American Rifleman, Turkey led the importing nations in 2020, with 1,478,464 firearms. Austria came in second at 1,284,785 followed by Brazil with 1,016,630. Rounding out the top five were Croatia (521,932) and Italy (360,557).
None of the top export destinations were included in the list of restricted countries named in the proposed rule (see below).
BIS is implementing regulatory changes to licensing procedures that will help validate that firearms are only exported to trustworthy foreign entities.
In addition to the new rule, on July 1, 2024, BIS will revoke currently valid licenses that authorize exports of firearms to non-government end users in the destinations identified by the State Department. This change will align future exports to the new IFR. Those licenses have not been reviewed under the updated policy, but license holders are welcome to reapply so that their applications can be reviewed under BIS’s new standard.
The IFR is effective on May 30, 2024, and the Department will accept public comments on the rule until July 1.
On October 27, 2023, Commerce announced a 90-day pause of export license approvals for certain assault weapons and other firearms transferred by the Trump administration from the State Department’s jurisdiction to Commerce. That pause was scheduled to expire on January 25, 2024.
In addition to the BIS IFR, Commerce's International Trade Administration (ITA) is implementing changes to its Client Eligibility Policy that will curtail promotion of firearms exports and exports of other items destined for commercial end users that could be misused by malign actors. Any request falling into this category will be declined except in cases consistent with U.S. foreign policy objectives, including national security and human rights.
LIST OF COUNTRIES
The following is the list of countries identified by the State Departement as having a substantial risk that lawful firearms exports to non‐governmental end users will be diverted or misused in a manner adverse to U.S. national security and foreign policy.
From the April 2024 – U.S. Department of State Firearms Guidance Memorandum [link]
Bahamas, Bangladesh, Belize, Bolivia, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Chad, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Indonesia, Jamaica, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Malaysia, Mali, Mozambique, Nepal, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Tajikistan, Trinidad and Tobago, Uganda, Vietnam, and Yemen.
The Guidance memo notes the State Department has agreed to chair a formal interagency working group to evaluate firearm diversion and misuse risks on a country‐by‐country basis. State will use that working group to continually assess the conclusions set out in this guidance document, with the goal of updating this list of destinations on an annual basis. In addition, State plans to lead U.S. interagency efforts to supplement the analysis with new qualitative and quantitative sources, including future data collection efforts to increase government understanding of diversion of both lawful and unlawful firearms.
Firearms License Requirements
Filed on: 04/26/2024 at 11:15 am Scheduled Pub. Date: 04/30/2024 FR Document: 2024-08813 |
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