http://www.foxbusiness.com/pol...es-for-u-s-guns.html

Once firearms, ITAR USML Category I, are moved over to jurisdiction of the Commerce Dept. , the $2250 annual "manufacturer registration" for gunsmiths will no longer apply. FINALLY!

What would that mean for someone who wants to build sporting arms in their garage, for their own use? (Bolt actions and falling blocks. No SMGs or DeLisle carbines)

Yup the knee jerk reaction to lump too many things as ITAR has cost the government more in lost time and dollars than they ever planned on. It's put the hurt on many industries besides small business gun making. But the loss of small scale gunmakers has been significant.

LDO, this means nothing to someone building for himself. According to the reg now, you only had to register and pay if you are "in the business." Of course, all BATFE rules still apply, no changes there.
Yes, it was a silly, overreaching, and burdensome rule to begin with, and served only to stifle many small commercial operations such as myself. The interpretation made in July 2016 which brought gunsmiths under the requirement had "Obama" written all over it.. Good riddance!

quote:

Yes, it was a silly, overreaching, and burdensome rule to begin with, and served only to stifle many small commercial operations such as myself. The interpretation made in July 2016 which brought gunsmiths under the requirement had "Obama" written all over it.. Good riddance!

Absolutely true in every respect! The ITAR regs, as applied to the average gunsmith, is a solution in search of a problem.
Let's all recall who ran the Dept of State in 2016...

Great! Hope it comes to pass. Used to make barrels for extra spending money. Never more than a dozen or so a year and certainly not enough to still be profitable after paying the ITAR fees. I've had to turn away more than average this past year. A Local FFL pretty much stopped his gunsmithing for the same reason. He's retired and only does gunsmithing part time. He also said he wouldn't be profitable paying the ITAR fees.

quote:

Originally posted by Hans Moleman:
Great! Hope it comes to pass. Used to make barrels for extra spending money. Never more than a dozen or so a year and certainly not enough to still be profitable after paying the ITAR fees. I've had to turn away more than average this past year. A Local FFL pretty much stopped his gunsmithing for the same reason. He's retired and only does gunsmithing part time. He also said he wouldn't be profitable paying the ITAR fees.

Barrelmaking? What barrels do you make?

Well I paid up a year ago... and it meant that I spent months working for the government. But I simply was not going to let the bastards run me out of business after 40 years. I agonized over whether or not to renew this year, and finally decided not to. Due to a couple of health issues I just decided to take a hiatus and see what happened. Now I'm really glad I didn't dump another fee into the useless government black hole. When the change becomes effective, I should be able to pick up again, hopefully.

quote:

Originally posted by butchlambert:
Barrelmaking? What barrels do you make?

Nothing real fancy, mostly AR15/10, AK or Mauser. Usually chambered for a wildcat or some unique profile or feature that isn't a commonly available item.

quote:

Originally posted by Hans Moleman:

quote:

Originally posted by butchlambert:
Barrelmaking? What barrels do you make?

Nothing real fancy, mostly AR15/10, AK or Mauser. Usually chambered for a wildcat or some unique profile or feature that isn't a commonly available item.

So you chamber barrels and do not make barrels?

No I don't make barrel blanks. Just turn barrel blanks into completed barrels by turning, threading, chambering, finishing ect. Most of those gunsmith tasks were redefined last year as manufacturing and required the ITAR tax. There are plenty of guys out there that continued on business as usual, but I'm not willing to be the guinea pig.

quote:

Originally posted by Hans Moleman:
No I don't make barrel blanks. Just turn barrel blanks into completed barrels by turning, threading, chambering, finishing ect. Most of those gunsmith tasks were redefined last year as manufacturing and required the ITAR tax. There are plenty of guys out there that continued on business as usual, but I'm not willing to be the guinea pig.

I understand.

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Assault rifles like the Bushmaster would be some of the most powerful weapons expected to be more readily available for commercial export under the new rules,

Jeez...
Even on Fox, we get ignorant misrepresentations of the AR-15 platform...
First, they need to stop this "assault rifle" crap. It's a made-up term to begin with, and even then is referring to SELECT FIRE weapons.
Second, the way these idiots keep referring to the 5.56/2.23 as the MOST POWERFUL round since the Chinese invented gunpowder is laughable, and we all know this. Yet, the lies and misinformation campaign continues.

No doubt the manufacturers would like some "relief", but it may be time to cull what has become a bloated industry under what has been an abnormal fear-driven market. Obama knew he was the best thing for gun sales in memory, yet he continued anyway...

IIRC, the package containing the HPA also contains legislation relaxing C&R import restrictions again (aren't there thousands of M-14's in South Korea we wanted back?). Hooray...the ITAR crap for non-exporters / gunsmiths has always been a farce.

Actually the ITAR mess started as a result of 9/11 not specifically Obama. It just became progressively worse as time went on as they "discovered" new areas to pick on.

It really hurt industries that commonly export technical data and import finished parts. Very common in the aerospace industry. The amount of training we received to handle that was mind boggling. Even then it was easy to do something wrong and when dealing with the government it's always your fault.

Any update on this mess?

https://www.federalregister.go...egories-i-ii-and-iii

The proposed regulation has been published in the Fedeeal Register, and the 45 day comment period closed on July 9. Tyey will now "digest" for a period of time and then publish the final regulation. Beginning at that point there will commence an approximately 180 day period for everybody (business and government) to prepare for the change. Then it will become effective.
Commerce Dept has published a corresponding regulation adding the items to the EAR (Export administration regulations) and the CCL (Commodity control list.) Same basic time frame.
Nothing in government moves quickly, does it? Looks like the changes could become effective early next year. Finally!