In an announcement apparently timed to minimize publicity, the U.S. Commerce Department late Friday announced a 90-day freeze on export approvals for most U.S.-made firearms, along with a review of support from the ministry to the shooting, hunting and outdoor trade – or “SHOT” – Show.
“The review will be carried out expeditiously and will enable the ministry to be more effective assess and mitigate the risk of firearms being diverted to entities or activities that promote regional instability, violate human rights, or fuel criminal activity,” the Department said.
Before you continue, let’s take a moment to reflect on the increasing hypocrisy of the US government – which has armed murderous autocrats, Islamic extremists and Mexican drug cartels – and express concern about the use of US weapons to “promote regional instability, violate human rights or fuel criminal activity.”
This latest federal attack on gun rights will apply to requests to export semiautomatic and non-automatic firearms sold to non-governmental recipients. Bloomberg reports. Obviously it won’t apply to Ukraine or Israel, or about forty other foreign governments that are partners with the United States in an export control pact. However, it will apply to some of the key markets for the domestic firearms industryincluding Brazil, Thailand and Guatemala.
For those who think that a strong arms industry is essential to guaranteeing the right to armed self-defense: the pause isn’t nearly as concerning as what new policies might be installed after the assessment is completed.
Bloomberg which is owned by a gun control enthusiast who seemed to be the first to know about the development, takes a victory lap about the announcement and linked it to a series of articles examining the federal government’s supervision and encouragement of exports. An important milestone came in 2020when the Trump administration shifted responsibility for approving arms exports from the State Department to Commerce.
One of those recent articles focused on the SHOT Show, the massive Las Vegas gun show that attracts more than 50,000 representatives from gun companies, dealers and individuals from around the world. Specific, Bloomberg questioned the propriety of the Department of Commerce’s participation in the SHOT Showthrough an “International Trade Center” space to host foreign buyers and promote U.S. exports, a practice that began in 2013.
“In the first year of the partnership, Commerce’s Foreign Commercial Service, which operates out of U.S. embassies and consulates, sent 370 buyers to SHOT Show,” reports Bloomberg. “By January 2023, that number had risen to more than 3,200.” Commercial staff have also organized group trips to the fair from various countries.
Bloomberg regretted that “American-style gun culture is beginning to flourish across Latin America,” and that American companies, with the help of trade, are throwing weapons into violent and unstable Guatemala.
In September, Sen. Elizabeth Warren and three other congressional Democrats sent a message letter to Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo who expressed alarm on the trade acting as a ‘driver and caretaker’ for the firearms industry, with particular concerns about the export of so-called ‘assault weapons’. The letter included ten detailed questions about how the Commerce Department handled its oversight.
The export approval freeze comes the same week Gun control czar Kamala Harris praised Australia for its approach to gun controlincluding mass confiscation and requiring citizens to prove to the government why they should own a gun.