Trump rescinds Biden-era firearms export rule to high-risk nations

**Trump Administration Rescinds Biden-Era Firearms Export Rule**

*Sept. 29 (UPI)* — The Trump administration on Monday rescinded a Biden-era firearms export rule that prohibited the transfer of civilian weaponry to individuals in 36 countries deemed high-risk for falling into the hands of criminals or terrorists.

The Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) rescinded the interim final rule, arguing it imposed “onerous” export controls on weapons, limiting U.S. gunmakers from competing in overseas markets at a cost of hundreds of millions of dollars annually in exports.

“BIS strongly rejects the Biden administration’s war on the Second Amendment and law-abiding firearms users,” Jeffrey Kessler, under secretary of Commerce for Industry and Security, said in a statement. “With today’s rule, BIS is restoring common sense to export controls and doing right by America’s proud firearms industry, while also continuing to protect national security.”

The Biden administration released the interim final rule on April 30, 2024, to restrict private transfers of firearms out of the United States. It aimed to reduce so-called straw purchases, where one person legally buys a weapon for someone restricted by U.S. law from owning it.

The rule barred the sale of weapons to individuals in 36 countries that the Department of State designated as “substantial risk” for lawful firearms exports to non-governmental entities being diverted or misused. These countries were blacklisted in the State Department’s Country Reports on Human Rights Practices and the Presidential Determination on Major Drug Transit or Major Illicit Drug Producing Countries.

Countries on these lists include Afghanistan, Myanmar, China, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Venezuela, Jamaica, and others.

Additionally, the rule reduced export license validity periods from four to five years down to one to two years. It also required potential exporters to submit purchase orders and passport identification from the intended recipients to demonstrate that they were the actual persons legally allowed to receive the firearms.

Civilian weapons and ammunition affected by the rule included most pistols, rifles, and non-long barrel shotguns.

In rescinding the rule, BIS argued that the presumption of denial for exports to these 36 countries ceded those overseas markets to foreign firearms manufacturers. The agency described the export license requirements as bureaucratic hurdles driven more by optics than national security concerns.

“The firearms industry is tremendously grateful to the Trump administration and BIS officials for their actions to restore American competitiveness in firearm manufacturing and exports to foreign countries,” said Lawrence Keane, NSSF senior vice president and general counsel. “American firearm manufacturing is the worldwide leader, and removing these restrictions will restore access to foreign markets while continuing to maintain adequate export controls to prevent illegal firearm trafficking.”

However, concerns remain. A report produced in October 2024 by the Government Accountability Office found that 73% of all weapons—mostly handguns—recovered in crimes by law enforcement in Caribbean nations, which account for six of the 10 highest murder rates worldwide, had originated from the United States, many stemming from commercial sales.

Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.), ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, criticized the Trump administration for further weakening oversight of international arms transfers. He warned that these weapons will now more easily find their way into illicit hands.

“Countries around the world, especially in Latin America and the Caribbean, have called on the U.S. to better control the export of American firearms, which all too often are exploited by gangs and criminal networks to destabilize communities and exacerbate civilian insecurity,” Meeks said in a statement, referencing the GAO report. “The administration’s reduction of oversight checks on such sales does nothing to strengthen national, regional, or global security.”
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2025/09/29/Trump-rescinds-Biden-firearms-export-rule/7111759197198/

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