WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) joined U.S. Senators Tim Scott (R-SC), Bill Hagerty (R-TN), and 19 colleagues in calling on Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo to withdraw the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) interim final rule severely restricting the issuance and limiting the lifespan of export licenses for firearms, ammunition, and certain accessories to overseas markets. The letter also calls for BIS leaders to before the Senate Banking Committee on the rule.
“We are concerned that the Department issued the Rule in an attempt to intentionally harm the firearms industry. As you know, many of these businesses rely on the export of firearms, related components, ammunition, and related assistance activities for such products to meet their bottom lines. We, therefore, call upon you to withdraw this deeply misguided rule and its associated license revocations. Additionally, we request that BIS Undersecretary Alan Estevez and Assistant Secretary Thea Kendler be available to testify before the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs,” wrote the Senators.
Senator Tuberville was joined by Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Ted Budd (R-NC), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Mike Crapo (R-ID), Tom Cotton (R-AR), Steve Daines (R-MT), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS), James Lankford (R-OK), Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), Roger Marshall (R-KS), Rick Scott (R-FL), Pete Ricketts (R-NE), Jim Risch (R-ID), Mike Rounds (R-SD), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Thom Tillis (R-NC), John Thune (R-SD), J.D. Vance (R-OH), and Todd Young (R-IN) in signing the letter.
Read the letter below or here.
“Dear Secretary Raimondo:
We write to express serious concern regarding the Interim Final Rule (Rule) on firearms and related components and ammunition exports that the Department of Commerce (Department), through the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), released on April 26, 2024. The Department’s actions over the past year— including the controversial and unusual export pause on October 27, 2023, this unprecedented rulemaking, and the Department’s International Trade Administration (ITA) decision to curtail the promotion of firearms exports — collectively serve as yet another example of the Biden administration using the administrative state to target legal U.S. industries and advance progressive policies without meaningful consideration of the impact on U.S. commercial, economic, national security, and foreign policy interests.
As you know, the Department’s mission is to create the conditions for economic growth and opportunity for all communities, and Congress’ leading policy directive to Commerce in the Export Control Reform Act was “to use export controls only after full consideration to the impact on the economy of the United States and only to the extent necessary.” This suggests that, at a minimum, the Department should consider the economic impact and national security considerations of any major rulemaking. However, this is not the case with BIS’s Rule, which makes widespread foreign country-wide changes to firearm export policy and establishes a bureaucratic license review process that will severely restrict the ability of firearm and ammunition manufacturers to receive export licenses. Despite BIS claiming to have conducted a cost-benefit analysis, the published Rule fails to provide any data concerning the impact it will have on the American economy. This omission only heightens our concerns and raises questions about the accuracy of the analysis BIS claims to have conducted.
Concerns about BIS’s failure to fully consider the economic impact of its decision-making are not new. Previously, Senators warned that the Department’s firearm export-related actions will undoubtedly harm American businesses and the U.S. economy, which represents billions of dollars in annual commercial activity for the nation. Additionally, industry analysts estimated that the economic impact of the preceding 90-day firearm export license pause would cost a minimum of approximately $121 million per year if finalized.
Even if these economic concerns were properly addressed, BIS’s claims that the Rule advances U.S. national security interests are dubious and open to debate. As part of implementing the new Rule, BIS plans to revoke existing licensing for 36 countries and subject current license holders to a new licensing system. BIS did not take such a drastic step even when acting on grave national security threats in the past, including previous actions related to Chinese hypersonic missiles, nuclear weapons proliferation, or China’s resumed exercise of authority over Hong Kong. Moreover, this Rule is unilaterally applied and is likely to encourage foreign actors, like China, to fill the vacuum in firearms-related exports, bolstering illicit arms dealers to the detriment of legitimate U.S. businesses and leading to further adverse effects on U.S. commercial, economic, national security, and foreign policy interests.
Flying blindly on issues impacting American competitiveness is unacceptable. We are concerned that the Department issued the Rule in an attempt to intentionally harm the firearms industry. As you know, many of these businesses rely on the export of firearms, related components, ammunition, and related assistance activities for such products to meet their bottom lines.
We, therefore, call upon you to withdraw this deeply misguided rule and its associated license revocations. Additionally, we request that BIS Undersecretary Alan Estevez and Assistant Secretary Thea Kendler be available to testify before the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
Thank you for your attention to this important matter.
Sincerely,”
BACKGROUND:
The BIS interim final rule would make permanent export freezes sought by the Biden administration when it first announced on October 27, 2023, a “90-day pause” to examine firearm export policy. The pause, which lasted over 180 days, was clearly an attempt to undermine the bipartisan Export Control Reform initiative for firearm and ammunition exports that was started by the Obama-Biden administration and completed by the Trump administration. The total economic impact of the interim final rule clearly exceeds the threshold to qualify as a major rule and is far above the farcically low estimates BIS has been telling NSSF and the Hill.
According to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), less than 1 percent of legally exported firearms are recovered abroad at crime scenes and traced. Yet, with this interim final rule, BIS is seeking to put U.S. manufacturers and exporters at a significant competitive disadvantage with competing countries that will fill the gap created by these export prohibitions.
READ MORE:
Tuberville Pushes To Block Unlawful ATF Rule
Tuberville Continues to Defend Second Amendment Rights
Tuberville, Colleagues Push Back On ATF’s Proposed Rule, Protect Second Amendment Rights
Tuberville Statement On Gun Legislation
Senator Tommy Tuberville represents Alabama in the United States Senate and is a member of the Senate Armed Services, Agriculture, Veterans’ Affairs, and HELP Committees.
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