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A New Direction in Suppressor Export Controls

Firearms are among the most regulated goods in the United States, and certain firearms or firearm components have enhanced restrictions on their sale and use. Historically, silencers — accessories that suppress the sound of a firearm — were subject to strict export rules that governed items with substantial military applications. Those export rules were under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Department of State, but reform efforts are shifting exports of silencers to a different, and at times more permissive, export licensing regime.

Beginning November 20, 2026, most firearm suppressors will leave the State Department’s export jurisdiction and move under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Department of Commerce. That change will occur when two interim final rules take effect implementing a 2025 executive order aimed at streamlining and expanding U.S. defense exports. Specifically, the change traces back to Executive Order 14268, “Reforming Foreign Defense Sales To Improve Speed and Accountability,” that President Trump signed on April 9, 2025. Among other things, the order directed the State and Defense departments to revisit the U.S. Munitions List (USML) so that it “focus[es] protections solely on our most sensitive and sophisticated technologies.”

Acting on that directive, the State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC) and the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) published companion interim final rules on July 23, 2026. Together, the rules remove most firearm silencers and sound suppressors from USML Category I(e) and add them to the Commerce Control List (CCL), placing them under the same licensing framework that already governs the underlying firearms.

A Pivot from the 2020 Rulemaking

This change mirrors a trend from the first Trump administration. In 2020, BIS and DDTC jointly transferred jurisdiction over a broad range of non-automatic and semi-automatic firearms, related components, and ammunition from the USML to the CCL (at 85 FR 4136 and 85 FR 3819). DDTC considered removing suppressors from the USML at that time as well, but declined to do so. Despite public comments that the devices were already widely available, DDTC concluded that a suppressor’s ability to “obscure the location of weapons fire” provided enough continuing military value to justify continued USML inclusion.

The State Department has now reversed that prior conclusion regarding suppressors designed for non-automatic and semi-automatic firearms. Pointing to the growing civilian market for suppressors, their recognized hearing-protection benefits, and the proliferation of foreign manufacturers, the department determined that these items “no longer provide a critical military or intelligence advantage.” Suppressors “specially designed” for fully automatic firearms remain on the USML because their heat-dissipation features and the inherently military character of the host weapons still warrant DDTC control. It remains to be seen how DDTC will draw this distinction. Industry groups have discussed this reform in competitive terms: moving suppressors to the CCL will allow U.S. manufacturers to export their products under a less restrictive licensing regime and compete on a more even footing with foreign manufacturers in growing foreign commercial markets.

What Moves to BIS and What Doesn’t

  • Suppressors for non-automatic and semi-automatic rifles, pistols, or combinations of rifles, pistols, and shotguns are now controlled under new Export Control Classification Number (ECCN) 0A501.f.
  • Suppressors made exclusively for shotguns fall under new ECCN 0A502.f.
  • Suppressors specially designed for fully automatic firearms remain on the USML under Category I(e) and continue to require State Department authorization.
  • Moving to the CCL does not totally deregulate these items. BIS will still require a license for the export, re-export, or in-country transfer of the newly controlled suppressors, including related technology and software released to foreign persons.

License Requirements and Available Exceptions

BIS will review license applications for 0A501.f suppressors under the same reasons for control that already apply to the underlying firearms: national security, regional stability, the firearms convention, UN embargoes, and anti-terrorism. Shotgun-only suppressors under 0A502.f carry a narrower regional-stability rule: a license is required for all destinations except NATO member states and a short list of partner countries (such as Australia, Austria, India, Ireland, Japan, Liechtenstein, New Zealand, South Korea, and Switzerland). BIS expects this rule change to generate roughly 200 additional license applications each year.

Exporters under the EAR are not left without relief. The license exceptions already available for firearms will generally extend to suppressors, including:

A New Tools-of-Trade Option

The BIS rule also expands TMP to let employees temporarily export company-owned firearms, suppressors, and ammunition abroad as tools of trade. Under the revised rule, up to three firearms and 1,000 rounds of ammunition may be exported this way, provided the equipment serves a legitimate business purpose, remains under the user’s effective control, is not resold or transferred abroad, and is declared to U.S. Customs and Border Protection before departure and ultimately returned to the United States.

Critical Dates

  • On July 23, 2026, several procedural amendments took effect immediately, including the expanded tools-of-trade provision, a correction extending BAG to shotgun parts and shells, and clarified temporary-import entry-clearance procedures under 15 CFR 758.10. Additionally, a savings clause permitted shipments already en route under prior license-exception eligibility as of July 23, 2026, to proceed to their destination if the export, re-export, or transfer was completed by August 24, 2026.
  • On August 24, 2026, the comment period on both interim final rules closed.
  • On November 20, 2026, the jurisdictional transfer of suppressors to the CCL and the related licensing and regional-stability requirements are effective.

Compliance Takeaways for Exporters

  • Either reclassify or confirm your suppressor products and components in your catalog — ECCN 0A501.f, ECCN 0A502.f, or continued USML Category I(e) coverage for fully automatic applications.
  • Update export classification records, license determinations, and Automated Export System filings before the November 20, 2026, effective date.
  • Review contracts, distributor agreements, and compliance manuals that reference USML Category I(e) suppressor controls to potentially reference the new ECCNs.
  • If your company relies on company-owned firearms or suppressors for overseas security, protective, or demonstration work, evaluate whether the revised TMP exception now applies.