BIS Revises Firearms License Requirements
On April 30, 2024, the Department of Commerce, Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) issued an interim final (89 FR 34680) making to the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) to revise firearms license requirements.
Overall, the new rule makes the following changes:
- Identifies semi-automatic firearms under new Export Control Classification Numbers (ECCNs);
- ECCN 0A506 controls semi-automatic rifles
- ECCN 0A507 controls semi-automatic pistols
- ECCN 0A508 controls semi-automatic shotguns, and
- ECCN 0A509 controls certain “parts,” “components,” devices, “accessories,” and “attachments” for items controlled under ECCNs 0A506, 0A507, and 0A508.
- Adds additional license requirements for Crime Control and Detection (CC) items, thereby resulting in additional restrictions on the availability of license exceptions for most destinations;
- Amends license review policies so that they are more explicit as to the nature of review that will accompany different types of transactions and license exception availability (including adding a new list of high-risk destinations);
- Updates and expands requirements for support documentation submitted with license applications; and
- Better accounts for the import documentation requirements of other countries (such as an import certificate or other permit prior to importation) when firearms and related items are authorized under a BIS license exception.
Effective July 1, 2024, BIS also revoked “existing licenses for the export and reexport of firearms and related items to non-government end users in destinations identified in supplement no. 3 to part 742 ” and modified other licenses to expire on May 30, 2025.
The new Supplement No. 3 to part 742 (High-Risk Destinations for Firearms and Related Items) includes:
- The Bahamas
- Bangladesh
- Belize
- Bolivia
- Burkina Faso
- Burundi
- Chad
- Colombia
- Dominican Republic
- Ecuador
- El Salvador
- Guatemala
- Guyana
- Honduras
- Indonesia
- Jamaica
- Kazakhstan
- Kyrgyzstan
- Laos
- Malaysia
- Mali
- Mozambique
- Nepal
- Niger
- Nigeria
- Pakistan,
- Panama
- Papua New Guinea
- Paraguay
- Peru
- Suriname
- Tajikistan
- Trinidad and Tobago
- Uganda
- Vietnam
- Yemen
Complete details can be found in the Federal Register Notice. Comments were accepted through July 1, 2024.
BIS Updates Country Information
On May 10, 2024, BIS issued a final rule (89 FR 40369) updating country names, license requirements, and Country Group D:5 as follows:
- Updates country names of Swaziland (now Eswatini), Macedonia (The Former Yugoslav Republic of) (now North Macedonia), and Turkey (now Türkiye).
- Corrects license requirements for Australia and the United Kingdom following the publication of the BIS AUKUS rule and the firearms rule (above).
- Updates Country Group D:5 to remove Cyprus (currently annually suspended as a member of the ITAR § 126.1 prohibited destination list) and finally add Russia (added to §126.1 in 2021). Of note, when there is a discrepancy between Country Group D:5 and ITAR § 126.1, § 126.1 controls. Additional changes were made to remove redundant references to Russia.
BIS Issues Turkey Antiboycott Advisory
On May 14, 2024, BIS issued a press release following the Turkish government’s recent announcement that it will suspend all exports and imports to and from Israel. The press release reminds U.S. persons that “taking certain actions in furtherance or support of an unsanctioned foreign boycott maintained by a country against a country friendly to the United States and require reporting of receipt of a boycott-related request to BIS.” In particular, U.S. companies operating in Turkey should be aware of potential boycott requests originating in that country. Examples of recent boycott requests are posted on the BIS website.
Prohibited actions and reporting requirements are defined in EAR Part 760. More information is also available from the BIS Office of Antiboycott Compliance (OAC). The U.S. Department of the Treasury administers additional restrictions.