Lawmakers ask Commerce Dept. to curb U.S. gun exports

By Mike Stone

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Congressional Democrats, including Senator Elizabeth Warren, have asked the U.S. Commerce Department to curb assault weapons exports and increase oversight of gun exports after a Trump-era ruling to ease firearms export laws pushed sales up, according to a letter sent Wednesday and seen by Reuters.

The letter, which was signed by Warren, Senator Chris Murphy and U.S. Representative Joaquin Castro, was sent to Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo.

The lawmakers wrote that they have “grave concern about Commerce Department actions that have weakened oversight of assault weapon and high-capacity magazine exports, padding the gun industry’s profits while putting deadly weapons in the hands of corrupt actors around the world.”

In 2020, President Donald Trump’s administration eased firearms exports when it moved export license oversight from the U.S. State Department to the Commerce Department.

The rule change was expected to increase business for gunmakers such as Smith & Wesson Brands Inc and Sturm Ruger & Co Inc. At the time, the National Shooting Sports Foundation, a lobbying group, estimated that relaxing the rules could increase foreign gun sales by as much as 20%.

However, in the first 16 months since the Commerce Department took over firearm export licensing, it approved nearly $16 billion worth of licenses. The lawmakers, citing U.S government data, said that was a 30% increase from when the State Department controlled firearms licensing.

“It’s hard to see how the Commerce Department’s increased approvals for assault weapons exports is consistent with the Administration’s gun safety agenda and commitment to return firearm license export controls to the State Department,” Warren said in a statement. 

Warren and the other Democrats also expressed concern that since taking over oversight, the Commerce Department had denied 0.4% of license applications and approved 95%.