LATEST UPDATE as of February 5th, 2020: The US Government has published the ‘Final Rules’ scheduled to go into effect on March 9th, 2020. However, a lawsuit threatens to derail or delay their implementation. We are preparing for full implementation of the new rules, and will keep this post updated accordingly.
For nearly a decade, Borderview has been closely following and supporting efforts to transition export control of most firearms and ammo away from the ITAR, which is designed to control only the most sensitive and inherently military items.
As of today, the U.S. government has put in writing their intention to officially publish the “Final Rules” to make this transition, next week on January 23rd, 2020. They rules will have a 45-day delayed effective date, meaning the soonest they would become effective is around March 9th, 2020.
What does this mean for you?
While the precise implications are yet to be seen, we can say this:
- eventually, wait times should be significantly reduced;
- export/import costs may trend downward;
- “low value” and “antique” firearm shipments become less restrictive;
- more details to come!
Note that all relevant firearm import and licensing laws in your country still apply, and a U.S. export license is still required for all firearm exports.
Borderview is continuing to work full force to be at the forefront of the implementation of these new rules. For any current customers whose items have been delayed in recent months due to a State Department policy change in late 2019, this should alleviate those issues and allow for export of your items in due time.
We will continue to update this post as more details become available.