Trump Administration Completes Review of Transfer of Gun Export Controls

The Trump administration completed its review of its final rule to move export controls of firearms from the State Department to the Commerce Department, clearing the way for the regulatory changes to potentially be completed this year.

The rule, which was sent on Oct. 23 to the White House’s Office of Management and Budget for a review completed Nov. 7, will transfer controls of firearms, guns, ammunition and other defense items from the U.S. Munitions List to the Commerce Control List. Larry Keane, senior vice president of the National Shooting Sports Foundation, expects the administration to send the rule to Congress for review this week at the latest. He said he is hopeful the rule will be published within the next two months. “We’ve been hoping this would be published for years,” he said.

A State Department spokesperson declined to answer questions but said the administration continues "to re-examine longstanding polices and regulations to ensure that U.S. industries have every advantage in the global marketplace, while at the same time ensuring the export of arms supports U.S. national security and foreign policy." Commerce did not comment.

The transfer of export controls from State to Commerce has been a top concern for the firearms industry for “many, many years,” Keane said. The transfer has received push-back from some trade experts and anti-gun activists, who fear it will lead to more U.S. firearms exports and increased proliferation of dangerous weapons (see 1904230049). The House passed legislation in July as part of the National Defense Authorization Act that would block the transfer of firearms from the USML to the CCL, but the bill has not passed the Senate.

Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., announced his intention to block the transfer of controls from State to Commerce in a February letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, arguing the transfer would reduce oversight of firearms sales. "They should be subject to more, not less, rigorous export controls," he said at the time. A spokesperson for Menendez did not comment.

Keane has said the transfer would lift a burden off the firearms industry, which deals with “onerous and costly” State Department licensing regulations (see 1908130066). “We’re glad to see it appears to finally be happening now,” he said.