BIS, State Need Watch List Sharing Deal Before Export Controls on Firearms Transferred to CCL, GAO Says

The Bureau of Industry and Security needs access to the State Department’s internal screening list once export controls on many firearms, artillery and ammunition are transferred from State to BIS, the Government Accountability Office said in a March 1 report. State has compiled years of information on illegitimate and bad actors in its watch list, and BIS may “lack critical information needed to effectively screen license applicants for firearms and related exports” once the transfers are finalized if it can’t get access, the report said.

BIS and State have been in discussions over what information can be shared from the list, which includes “sensitive details related to ongoing and previous law enforcement activities,” but no agreement has yet been reached, GAO said. “discussions involve determining which specific watch list information Commerce would need and State is able to share, depending on the source of the information,” GAO said.

Both State and BIS concurred with GAO’s recommendations. State “is already engaged in the process of coordinating approval of the required Interagency Agreement (IAA) and Interconnect Security Agreement (ISA) to allow for electronic transfer of this information to the Department of Commerce,” it said. Items in categories I, II and III were proposed for transfer from the U.S. Munitions List in May, and were submitted for Office of Management and Budget approval in November. A 30-day congressional notification period that is required before the rules are published expires around March 6.