DDTC Amends Export Policy for Gun Suppressors

The State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls rescinded its policy for exports of firearms sound suppressors and will instead handle those shipments “in a manner consistent” with other U.S. Munitions List controlled technologies, DDTC said July 10. DDTC’s policy previously called for “enhanced guidelines” for approving export licenses for suppressors and restricted exports to “only official end users such as government or military entities,” the agency said.

DDTC will now require exporters to identify a “specific end user” when seeking an export license. Exporters also must provide “purchase documentation, a DSP-83 non-transfer and end use certificate … an end-user statement, and an import permit,” if required. The agency said all licenses will be reviewed case by case. Prelicense checks or post-shipment verifications will be “conducted as deemed necessary and appropriate based on the totality of the circumstances of the transaction.”