BIS, State Department Propose to Reorganize Export Controls on Firearms
The Bureau of Industry and Security and the State Department are publishing concurrent proposals to reorganize export controls on firearms, accessories and ammunition. Under the proposed rules, non-automatic and semi-automatic firearms up to and including caliber .50 (12.7mm), as well as shotguns with a barrel length of 18 inches or less, would no longer be controlled under the International Traffic in Arms regulations, and would instead be added as dual-use goods to the Commerce Control List. Comments are due July 9.
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
If your job depends on informed compliance, you need International Trade Today. Delivered every business day and available any time online, only International Trade Today helps you stay current on the increasingly complex international trade regulatory environment.
The BIS proposed rule would create new ECCNs 0A501 and 0A502, which include firearms .72 caliber or less and shotguns. Other new ECCNs would cover parts, accessories and attachments for these guns. Non-lethal or less-lethal grenades and projectiles would be covered in new ECCN 0A503. New ECCN 0A602 would cover guns manufactured between 1890 and 1919 and flame throwers with a range of less than 20 meters. A note to that ECCN would confirm that black powder guns and armament manufactured in or before 1890 are designated EAR99, with some exceptions.
Remaining on the U.S. Munitions List would be firearms that fire caseless ammunition, fully automatic firearms, firearms that are designed to integrate fire control systems, fully automatic shotguns, silencers and suppressors, and scopes that incorporate night vision or infrared capabilities, according to the State Department proposal to revise USML categories I, II and III. Flash suppressors and other types of riflescopes would be covered by the Export Administration Regulations, State said. High capacity magazines (more than 50 rounds) and parts and components that convert semiautomatic firearms into fully automatic firearms would stay on the USML.
Other new ECCNs created under the BIS proposed rule cover optical sighting devices (0A504); certain ammunition (0A505), test, inspection and production equipment for firearms and related equipment controlled on the CCL (0B501, 0B505, and 0B602); software for the development, production, operation or maintenance of CCL-classified firearms and related equipment (0D501, 0D505, 0D602); and related technology (0E501, 0E502, 0E504, 0E505 and 0E602). Both proposals also make conforming amendments to other CCL and USML provisions, respectively. See each proposed rule for a detailed discussion of the proposed changes.
(Federal Register 05/24/18)