US Firearms Industry Concerned About Delay in Export Control Transfers From State to Commerce

One of the top concerns of the U.S. firearms industry is the delay in transitioning export controls of firearms and ammunition from the State Department to the Commerce Department, said Larry Keane, senior vice president of the National Shooting Sports Foundation. As the wait for Export Control Reform has increased -- beginning in 2009 under the Obama administration and continuing under the Trump administration -- the U.S. firearms industry increasingly feels as if it has been left behind, Keane said.

“When we expected to be the caboose of the ECR train, we ended up getting decoupled and left at the station,” he said.

The push to transfer export controls for guns and other defense-related goods from State’s U.S. Munitions List to the Commerce Control List has been met with both support and opposition. Supporters say the move would ease regulatory burdens for U.S. manufacturers and exporters, such as expanded license parameters and the reduction of certain export-related costs. Others say it could lead to exports of dangerous weapons landing in hostile countries.

Rep. Norma Torres, D-Calif., organized a panel in April to argue against the transfer (see 1904230049) and successfully attached an amendment to the House’s 2020 National Defense Authorization Act that would block the transfer.

Meanwhile, Keane said, the U.S. firearms industry has been left in limbo. Keane said the NSSF was told the transition would be completed in March and had been working with Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security to organize conferences and seminars for U.S. companies to help educate them about the licensing and regulation changes between State and Commerce. The NSSF had planned for their July 30 to Aug. 1 Annual Firearms Import/Export Conference to focus heavily on the changes.

“We had to put a pause on that and things stalled,” Keane said. “It’s been a big concern for the industry.”

Keane said the NSSF has closely monitored the nomination of Nazak Nikakhtar for Commerce’s undersecretary of Industry and Security, but the group has not yet taken a position on her nomination. Keane said the foundation is concerned Nikakhtar may be advocating against the export control transfers. “Part of the reason rules have not been published involved her view of things, from what we’ve heard,” Keane said. “So we’re concerned.”

Keane said the export control transfers would lift a “burden” off the industry, which he said deals with licensing regulations that are “onerous and costly and unnecessary.” Keane pointed to unnecessary State Department licensing fees and said the Commerce Department has lengthier durations for approved export licenses. He also said the firearms and ammunition industry accounts for one-third of all licenses handled by the State Department's Directorate of Defense Trade Controls. “It will allow DDTC to use those resources to focus on” other matters, Keane said.

The NSSF has urged the Trump administration to complete the transfer, Keane said, but the industry is unsure when and if it will happen. “We hope sooner rather than later,” Keane said. “We think it’s time."