Trump Administration Eases Regulations on Gun Exports, Raising Concerns

WASHINGTON — American gun manufacturers and their allies have pressed the federal government for years to change the way it regulates small-arms exports in an effort to ease restrictions, boost gun sales abroad and lower costs at home. The Trump administration appears to be on the brink of delivering.

Officials from the State and Commerce Departments — the two entities tasked with regulating arms sales internationally — privately told Congress this week that they intend to finalize rules next week that would shuffle which agency oversees most consumer gun exports, relaxing export regulations and oversight, according to congressional aides familiar with the plans. Once Congress receives formal notification of the rule change, lawmakers will have 30 days to decide whether to intervene or let the new rules take effect.

Under the changes, many American gun and ammunition manufacturers that sell primarily to consumers would no longer be required to register with the State Department, which currently licenses international arms sales, or to pay the department an annual fee. Instead, those sales would be licensed by the Commerce Department, which has a simpler process and does not charge a fee.

The changes are almost certain to provoke resistance from some Democratic lawmakers, who fear that lighter regulation will lead to a proliferation of American guns, including AR-15s and similar semiautomatic rifles frequently used in mass shootings, around the world and exacerbate illegal arms trafficking. Senator Robert Menendez of New Jersey, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has such strong concerns that he plans to place a hold on the new rule — a step that his staff believes could effectively bar it being carried out for a period of time to allow for negotiations over his objections.

But blocking the changes permanently would be exceedingly difficult. It would require an act of Congress and, therefore, the overwhelming support of congressional Republicans, who generally back changes that will lessen regulations on businesses, especially gun manufacturers.

Though many liberal lawmakers now oppose the plan, the push to streamline government controls on American arms exports began under President Barack Obama to promote export opportunities for American companies and refocus regulatory attention on sales that could pose national security risks.

The rule to move commercial gun export licenses to the Commerce Department was nearly complete when a gunman opened fire at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., in late 2012, killing 26 people, most of them children. Though the proposal was not related to domestic gun control, Mr. Obama's administration delayed the rule-making process and never reopened it.

Mr. Trump's campaign to pare back federal regulations across the government revived the issue. He formally proposed a rule change virtually identical to Mr. Obama's last May and has subsequently incorporated public comments. The meeting between administration and congressional officials this week was meant to draw that process to a close.

Among the items being transferred to the Commerce Department's jurisdiction are semiautomatic and single-shot firearms, as well as a range of parts and components. The State Department will continue to license sales of items that serve "a critical military advantage or perform an inherently military function," including automatic weapons.

In moving jurisdiction of certain sales from the State Department to the Commerce Department, Congress will lose an oversight lever that it covets and has relied on in high-profile cases in the past. Under the Arms Export Control Act, the State Department is required to submit information on any commercial arms sale worth $1 million or more to congressional review. The Commerce Department has no such requirement.

That lack of visibility is high among Mr. Menendez's concerns. Democrats also believe the changes have implications for the proliferation of blueprints for 3-D printed guns online and could undercut a federal lawsuit brought by several state attorneys general to block such blueprints from being shared online.

"I think it's the beginning of the Trump administration trying to move a series of different sales that are generally considered arms sales into a more commercial category," Mr. Menendez said in a brief interview on Thursday. "That's not good."

In the House, where Democrats hold the majority and could conceivably pass a bill to block the change, Representative Eliot L. Engel of New York, the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, will most likely hold a hearing on the proposed changes.

And at least one House Democrat, Representative Norma J. Torres of California, has introduced legislation in the past to block the proposed shift and keep oversight responsibilities with the State Department. A spokeswoman for Ms. Torres said she planned to reintroduce the measure in the coming days. The changes, the congresswoman wrote last year, "could be a boon for illegal weapons traffickers and their unsavory customers — from ISIS to Mexico's Sinaloa Cartel."

Proponents say Democrats are being hyperbolic and point out that there were few objections on the left when Mr. Obama proposed his own rule.

A State Department official, speaking anonymously to discuss a rule that has not been finalized, stressed that arms transferred to the Commerce Department's purview will still be subject to strict licensing requirements and a review by multiple American agencies, including the State Department. The official said the changes are meant to prioritize the control of military grade or other arms that pose national security concerns rather than commercial items. The change would also cut costs for businesses.

Lawrence Keane of the National Shooting Sports Foundation, one of the leading advocates for the new rules, predicted they would make "American companies more competitive internationally without diminishing national security."

"Why would you not do that?" he added.