The US Department of Commerce has imposed a 90-day freeze on the approval of new export licenses for most US-made firearms, while also launching a review of its support for the country's

largest gun trade show. These actions are aimed at ensuring that such backing aligns with US policy interests and may potentially impact the decades-long growth in international gun sales.

The freeze will temporarily suspend the approval of new export licenses for the commercial sale of semiautomatic and non-automatic firearms worldwide. However, it does not apply to Israel, Ukraine, and around 40 other nations that are part of an export-control agreement. Countries like Brazil, Thailand, and Guatemala, major markets for American gun manufacturers, are affected by this freeze, as revealed by a Bloomberg News investigation into the impact of US government support for weapons sales in these regions.

The Department stated that the review of its support for the firearm industry will be conducted urgently, aiming to better assess and mitigate the risk of firearms being diverted to entities or activities promoting regional instability, violating human rights, or fueling criminal activities.

While the long-term changes that may result from this review are unclear, it could lead to revisions or reversals of industry-friendly policies, including the shift of oversight for most commercial gun exports from the State Department to the Department of Commerce in 2020 and the Department's decade-long support for the Shooting, Hunting, and Outdoor Trade Show (SHOT Show), a significant gun marketing expo held annually in Las Vegas.

Critics of the rule change have welcomed the Department's decision, citing the role of US firearms in contributing to violence and instability abroad. Representative Joaquin Castro, along with Senator Elizabeth Warren, has sought answers from the Biden administration regarding the increase in approvals of assault weapons export licenses over the past year.

The gun industry's strategies to expand global sales, coupled with friendly US policies, have been under scrutiny by Bloomberg over the past several months. This investigation started with an examination of gun sales to Thailand and later revealed the extensive support provided by the Commerce Department to SHOT Show.

The Department of Commerce has not provided further comments or explanations regarding the pause and the review of its support for SHOT Show.

In the last two decades, international gun sales have surged, with over 3.7 million rapid-fire and military-style firearms sold since 2005. These firearms are exported to countries facing rising gun crime rates and authoritarian regimes, often with bipartisan support from Democratic and Republican presidents. However, some members of Congress have become more vocal in criticizing these sales, leading to legislative initiatives like the Americas Regional Monitoring of Armed Sales (ARMAS) Act, which seeks to disrupt firearms trafficking from the US to Latin America and the Caribbean. Photo by t. Louis Circuit Attorney's Office, Wikimedia commons.