New House Bill Would Return Gun Export Oversight to State Dept.
Four House Democrats introduced a bill aimed at curbing the flow of U.S. firearms to drug cartels, gangs and other violent groups in the Caribbean and Latin America.
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The proposed Americas Regional Monitoring of Arms Sales (ARMAS) Act would transfer authority over small arms exports from the Commerce Department back to the State Department “to ensure greater accountability and transparency,” according to a Dec. 6 press release from Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas.
The bill also would require the development of an interagency strategy, led by the State Department, to disrupt firearms trafficking and the diversion of exported firearms. It also calls for the creation of a certification requirement for firearms sale end-users.
Supporters of the bill said firearms-related violence and instability in Haiti, Mexico and other countries in the region have surged in recent years because of the Trump administration's transfer of small arms export authority from State to Commerce in 2020 (see 2001170030), which caused U.S. firearms sales to the Caribbean and Latin America to skyrocket. The press release said the U.S. has since seen a 30% annual increase in U.S. arms exports globally and an 82% increase in U.S. handgun exports to Latin America and the Caribbean.
While the State Department "had historically evaluated the impact of gun exports on regional stability before approving export licenses," Commerce "is chiefly concerned with America's economic interests," Castro said in a Dec. 6 speech at the Center for American Progress.
Democrats have repeatedly pressed the Biden administration to transfer the oversight authority back to the State Department (see 2209280041, 2207150027 and 2204010006).
Castro introduced the bill with Reps. Norma Torres, D-Calif., Dan Goldman, D-N.Y., and Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, D-Fla. More than a dozen other House Democrats have co-sponsored the legislation, which was referred to the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
The bill doesn't mention the Bureau of Industry and Security's recent 90-day pause in issuing new commercial firearms export licenses (see 2310270068). The press release came a day after five House Republicans told BIS the pause would financially harm companies, especially small ones, that rely on foreign sales (see 2312060039).