White House Efforts to Relax Gun Exports Face Resistance

Daily News Article — Posted on May 3, 2012

Homeland Security and Justice Department officials are privately objecting to elements of a loosening of export controls that President Obama has proposed as a way to boost exports and generate jobs.

(by Adam Entous and Evan Perez, WSJ.com) – U.S. homeland-security and law-enforcement agencies have objected to Obama administration proposals to relax export restrictions on high-powered firearms, threatening a centerpiece of the president’s trade…agenda.

The agencies, in internal memos viewed by The Wall Street Journal, warn the changes could help arm drug cartels and terrorists and make it harder for the U.S. to crack down on gun-trafficking.

The arms proposal is part of a broader overhaul of U.S. export rules sought by Mr. Obama, with the goal of helping domestic manufacturers compete in global markets, as well as improving U.S. national security by focusing controls on higher-risk items and enhancing the capabilities of allies.

Mr. Obama has said he wants to double U.S. exports of all types by the end of 2014, a policy push that also includes bilateral* free-trade agreements and a plan to reorganize government agencies that promote trade. [a bilateral trade agreement is defined as an economic contract between two nation states. Bilateral agreements are used to improve economic trade imbalances between nations. Taxes, tariffs and quotas are often lifted, reduced or restricted on specific goods or services to realign trade deficits and restore economic stability between the two parties.]

The proposed changes to weapons now subject to strict export regulation would cover a range of goods from firearms to drones, satellites and tanks, as well as civilian equipment with military uses.

Foreign sales of all U.S.-made weapons topped $34 billion last year, according to the Pentagon. That doesn’t include such restricted items as high-performance computers and electronics.

Industry officials said the relaxation of export controls could help domestic arms makers and other firms boost sales by tens of billions of dollars.

Objections by some security agencies, along with congressional skepticism, could diminish chances that Mr. Obama can secure these changes, especially in an election year, according to people familiar with the matter.

The strongest objections were raised by the Homeland Security Department. In a recent internal memorandum to the White House and government agencies, the department said the proposed changes risked hindering the ability of its immigration and customs agents “to prevent or deter the illegal export/transfer of lethal items such as advanced firearms to criminal groups, terrorist organizations, or enemy combatants.”

The memo added: “This increased likelihood of the illegal export of lethal advanced firearms may put U.S. military, law enforcement or civilian personnel at increased risk.”

Similar objections have been raised by the Justice Department and intelligence officials, according to documents and officials familiar with the matter.

Some law-enforcement and intelligence officials say the proposals could invite a sequel to “Fast and Furious,” a gun-trafficking enforcement program in which federal agents allowed suspected smugglers to buy about 2,000 firearms, hoping they would lead agents to smuggling bosses. Many of the weapons ended up at crime scenes along the U.S.-Mexico border, triggering a congressional probe.

Behind the current dispute are proposals from the State and Commerce departments that would ease the way for sales of semi-automatic firearms of up to .50 caliber to 36 countries deemed “trusted parties,” said officials briefed on the matter. These include North Atlantic Treaty Organization members such as the U.K. and Turkey, as well as non-NATO allies in Latin America and Asia.

An Obama administration official said the rules were a work in progress and concerns raised by government agencies were “being addressed.” The official said the effort was designed to enhance security by relaxing regulations for civilian equipment with military applications deemed safe for export, while “bolstering enforcement” and oversight of defense equipment that pose a more serious threat. …

Weapons subject to stiff restrictions appear on a so-called Munitions List, run by the State Department, and require all parties in a proposed transaction to register with the U.S. They must be licensed sales with tracking required to ensure the arms are only used as intended, officials and experts say.

Under the proposed rules, close-assault weapons, sniper rifles, combat shotguns and ammunition would be moved from the “strict controls” of the Munitions List to a “lesser controlled” Commerce list, according to a Homeland Security memo.

On the Commerce list, certain firearms could be exported, and re-exported, among 36 eligible countries, in some cases without advance U.S. approval, according to documents and congressional officials briefed on the proposals. Critics say the weapons would have less stringent disclosure and tracking rules, along with broad exceptions from license requirements.

The proposed changes worry lawmakers in both parties, aides say. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, (R., Fla.), who leads the House Foreign Affairs Committee, which oversees this area, said the changes would “create vulnerabilities that will likely be exploited by rogue exporters, front companies, foreign intelligence services and extremists.”

The administration official said the White House was consulting regularly with Congress.

Industry groups have long complained about export rules and have pressed successive administrations for changes. Many say law-enforcement concerns are overblown because security protections would be built into the new rules. …

U.S. manufacturers exported 195,000 firearms in 2009, the most recent year the federal government has statistics. That is down from 1993, the last peak, when more than 431,000 were exported. Imports spiked to 2.8 million firearms in 2009, from about 892,000 a decade earlier. …

Homeland Security warned in its memo that many eligible countries in Europe have “considerable government corruption, significant underground economies and no border controls for exports allowing these countries to serve as transshipment points for diversion of small arms and light weapons.” No [specific] country was named.

Under the proposed rules, the memo said, the job of investigating suspicious exports would shift from the U.S. to countries importing the equipment. The department said the ability of U.S. customs and border agents to enforce proposed regulations would be “severely weakened or nonexistent,” creating loopholes for traffickers.

A separate March 2012 Justice Department memo, also reviewed by The Wall Street Journal, cautioned against making any changes that could undermine the authorities of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to block weapons sales to countries subject to U.S. embargoes.

A Homeland Security official sought to play down the objections raised in the memo, saying the agency “strongly supports the president’s export control reform initiative” and was “confident that consensus will be reached.”