Biden Administration Halts U.S. Gun Exports for 90 Days
The Biden administration has issued an order halting exports and sales of American-made civilian firearms for 90 days, starting October 27, 2023. The U.S. Department of Commerce has stopped issuing export licenses for most civilian firearms and ammunition (and some optics) for 90 days for all non-governmental users. The Commerce Department cited security issues as grounds its sweeping order: “The review will be conducted with urgency and will enable the Department to more effectively assess and mitigate risk of firearms being diverted to entities or activities that promote regional instability, violate human rights, or fuel criminal activities.”
We can expect this order to reduce sales and revenues of leading American gunmakers including Barrett, Colt, Ruger, SIG Sauer USA, and Smith & Wesson.
Bloomberg reports: “The Commerce Department is halting exports of most US-made firearms for 90 days and reviewing its support of the country’s biggest gun trade show to ensure such backing ‘does not undermine US policy interests’ — steps that could slow two decades of growth of gun sales abroad.
The department late Friday announced the pause in approval of new export licenses for the commercial sale of semiautomatic and non-automatic firearms around the world. The freeze doesn’t apply to Israel, Ukraine and about 40 other countries that are part of an export-control agreement. But it does cover some of the biggest markets for American gunmakers, including Brazil, Thailand, and Guatemala[.]”
However, the ban will NOT apply to some 40 countries, including Israel and Ukraine, that have a separate export agreement for firearms. Reuters states that: “Exporters can continue to submit license requests during the pause, but they will be ‘held without action’ until the pause is lifted.”
What is interesting, and perhaps deliberate, is that the 90-day export ban overlaps with the NSSF SHOT Show. TheTruthaboutGuns.com noted: “The announcement of this 90-day ‘pause’ in export licensing just happens to be perfectly timed to include pulling the Commerce Department’s support for the NSSF’s SHOT Show scheduled for January 23 to 26, 2024.”
One legal expert observed that the export ban will apply to most firearms and ammunition that can be purchased in American gun stores, including shotguns. Johanna Reeves, a lawyer with Reeves & Dola in Washington who specializes in export controls and firearms, stated she had never seen such a broad and sweeping restriction on civilian gun exports before.
AR-15 Image from Wing Tactical.
