Changes recently posted on the Federal Register by the Commerce Department and State Department on July 23 signal a major change for a growing segment of the firearm industry. The rules transfer export licensing of firearm suppressors from the State Department to the Commerce Department. They finish a U.S. Munitions List to Commerce Control List (USML to CCL) transition process launched by the Trump Administration in 2020.
The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) and the State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC) issued the coordinated rules. They remove suppressors from the USML and place them on the CCL.
“Eight years ago, NRA filed comments in support of the Trump Administration’s plan to reform exports of firearms and ammunition – as well as their parts, components, and accessories,” an NRA-ILA statement noted. “This initiative not only helped make America’s best-in-class goods more competitive on the world market, it alleviated red tape, headaches, and ambiguity for Americans exercising their Second Amendment rights here in the U.S. While we were effusive in our support for the effort, we did point out one notable omission: firearm sound suppressors. With joint Interim Final Rules released on July 22 by the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls at the U.S. State Department and the Bureau of Industry and Security at the Commerce Department, that omission has been corrected.”
Export Control Reform (ECR) was initiated by the Obama Administration to move export licensing of dual-use products of all types. The Obama Administration completed the ECR for all other industries, but refused to complete the reforms for the firearm industry (USML Categories I, II and III, pertaining to firearms, ammunition and accessories).
The $200 tax imposed on taking ownership of one of the hearing-healthy muzzle devices was removed on Jan. 1, 2026, although they remain on the National Firearms Act (NFA). Much of the American public persists in the widespread belief they completely silence a gun, a belief popularized by Hollywood’s misleading depiction. In fact, suppressors simply reduce the report of a firearm below the 140-decibel threshold, where instant and permanent hearing loss begins.
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