Industrial Policy & Trade Monitor· 2665 actions· ✨ 90 recent

The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), within the U.S. Department of Commerce, published a final rule in the Federal Register on September 30, 2025 (FR Doc 2025-18992) rescinding the April 30, 2024 Firearms Export License Requirements interim final rule in its entirety, with the sole exception of preserving the new Export Control Classification Numbers (ECCNs) it had introduced for firearms and ammunition. The rule also amends the EAR to remove the Congressional notification requirement for certain semi-automatic firearms license applications. It is effective on publication.

The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), within the U.S. Department of Commerce, published an interim final rule (FR Doc 2024-08813) on April 30, 2024 amending the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) to restructure export controls on firearms, ammunition, parts, accessories, and related technology and software (EAR Categories 0 and 1). The rule created new Export Control Classification Numbers (ECCNs) for semi-automatic firearms, added Crime Control / Detection (CC) license requirements, narrowed license-exception eligibility, introduced a presumption of denial for many non-government end-users, and imposed a default 1-year license validity for semi-automatic firearms. Effective May 30, 2024; later rescinded (except for the new ECCNs) by FR Doc 2025-18992 on September 30, 2025.

The US Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) issued an interim final rule (IFR) amending the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) to remove list-based license requirements — including National Security Column 1 (NS1), Regional Stability Column 1 (RS1) and Missile Technology Column 1 (MT1) reasons-for-control — for exports, reexports and in-country transfers to or within Australia and the United Kingdom. The IFR also expands the availability of license exceptions and reduces the scope of end-use and end-user-based license requirements for the two AUKUS partners, while leaving firearms-related items (Crime Control / CC) and a narrow set of other ECCNs untouched. The rule is the EAR-side companion to a parallel DDTC proposed rule creating an ITAR §126.7 exemption for defense articles and services traded among authorised AU/UK/US users, and is the foundational regulatory implementation of the AUKUS Pillar 2 advanced-capability cooperation track.

The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) published a final rule (FR Doc 2022-11761) on June 1, 2022 adding a new section (15 CFR § 743.6) to the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) requiring BIS to notify Congress before issuing export licenses for semiautomatic firearms (ECCN 0A501.a) where a single license application meets or exceeds $4 million in value. The notification requirement applies to destinations outside Country Groups A:5 and A:6 (close US allies) and does not apply to exports under License Exception GOV for US government or NATO agency use. The rule is a Biden-era oversight measure adopted under the Export Control Reform Act of 2018 (ECRA); it is a predecessor step in the regulatory arc that culminated in the 2024 BIS Firearms IFR (FR Doc 2024-08813), which was later partially rescinded in 2025.

The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) published a final rule on August 19, 2021 (FR Doc 2021-17647, RIN 0694-AF47) making technical corrections and clarifications to the January 23, 2020 rule that transferred firearms, guns, and ammunition from USML Categories I, II, and III under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) to the Commerce Control List (CCL). Corrections address cross-reference errors, clarify Firearms Convention Import Certificate validity periods relative to BIS license periods, simplify commodity description requirements in electronic export filings, and add technical notes on controlled items (e.g. BMG cartridges, barrel blanks). ECCN 0A018 is removed as unused; ECCN 0A501.y.2–.y.5 entries are reserved. The rule is effective September 20, 2021.

On June 1, 2021, the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) published FR Doc 2021-11585 (86 FR 29189) notifying the public that, effective May 26, 2021, BIS had assumed jurisdiction over certain firearms-related "technology" and "software" — specifically digital files (CAD/AMF/G-code) for 3D-printed firearms and CNC milling instruction files — under ECCNs 0D501 and 0E501 of the Export Administration Regulations (EAR). The transfer was triggered by the Ninth Circuit's April 27, 2021 vacatur of a March 6, 2020 district-court preliminary injunction that had blocked the technology/software prong of the broader January 23, 2020 USML-to-CCL transfer rule. Internet posting of such files now requires a BIS license (review policy: denial), completing the full implementation of the January 2020 rule transferring USML Categories I–III (firearms, guns, and ammunition) from ITAR/State Department to EAR/Commerce jurisdiction.