The Biden administration has initiated a 90-day freeze on the approval of exports for most American-made firearms. This move follows the tragic mass shooting in Maine, but its connection to preventing such incidents remains unclear. The U.S. Commerce Department announced the freeze late Friday, seemingly with minimal publicity. This action is accompanied by a review of the department’s support of the Shooting, Hunting, and Outdoor Trade Show (SHOT Show) to assess and mitigate the risk of firearms being diverted for activities that promote regional instability, violate human rights, or fuel criminal actions.
The freeze primarily applies to requests for exporting semiautomatic and non-automatic firearms sold to non-government recipients. Exemptions are granted for countries like Ukraine, Israel, and around 40 other foreign governments with export-control agreements with the United States. Notably, significant markets for the domestic firearms industry, including Brazil, Thailand, and Guatemala, are affected.
This move has raised concerns among gun rights advocates, as a robust domestic firearms industry is seen as crucial for upholding the right to armed self-defense. The freeze may not be as concerning as the potential policies that may emerge after the review. Some media outlets, such as Bloomberg, owned by gun control activist Mike Bloomberg, have celebrated the announcement, linking it to a series of articles scrutinizing the government’s oversight and support of exports.
In 2020, the Trump administration shifted responsibility for approving gun exports from the State Department to the Commerce Department, a key development noted in recent articles, including scrutiny of the Commerce Department’s participation in the SHOT Show via an “International Trade Center” space aimed at promoting U.S. exports.
“In the first year of the partnership, Commerce’s Foreign Commercial Service, which operates out of US embassies and consulates, steered 370 buyers to SHOT Show,” reports Bloomberg.
“By January 2023, that number had jumped to more than 3,200.”
Commerce Department employees have also organized group trips to the show from a variety of countries.
Bloomberg complained that “American-style gun culture is starting to blossom across Latin America.”
The report also highlights that, with the assistance of the Commerce Department, American companies are supplying firearms to a volatile and violent Guatemala. In September, Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and three other congressional Democrats addressed a letter to Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, expressing deep concerns about the Commerce Department’s role as a facilitator for the firearms industry, acting like a booster and concierge. They raised specific worries about the export of so-called “assault weapons” and posed ten detailed questions regarding the department’s oversight.
The decision to freeze export approvals coincided with the same week when Kamala Harris, the Biden administration’s “gun control czar,” commended Australia for its approach to banning firearms.
WATCH:
.@VP Harris praises Australia’s massive gun confiscation: "Let us be clear, it does not have to be this way, as our friends in Australia have demonstrated.” pic.twitter.com/3oKrlqq619
— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) October 26, 2023
