Warren, Meeks Press Commerce Department to Release Data on Gun Exports Fueling Gun Violence Abroad

Warren, Meeks Press Commerce Department to Release Data on Gun Exports Fueling Gun Violence Abroad

U.S. firearm exports are responsible for over 37 percent of crime gun traces globally outside of North America

Without adequate controls, legal firearm exports end up in the hands of militia, cartels, other criminal actors abroad

Text of Letter (PDF)

Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Ranking Member of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee (BHUA), and Representative Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.), Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, pressed Under Secretary of Commerce for Industry and Security Jeffrey Kessler for information on the exports of U.S.-made semi-automatic weapons. The letter comes after recent reporting exposed that weapons flowing from the U.S. to Mexico are fueling some of the country's most violent crimes.

According to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), legal U.S. firearm exports are responsible for almost 20 percent of crime gun traces in Central America and over 37 percent globally outside of North America. Without adequate controls, these legal firearm exports end up in the hands of militia, cartels, and other criminal actors abroad.

"As this Administration attempts to combat cartels and other transnational criminal organizations in the Western Hemisphere, it must ensure that the illicit and legal flow of U.S.-made weapons across our borders are not contributing to instability and violence and undercutting the national security and foreign policy of the United States," wrote the lawmakers.

As Ranking Members of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee and the House Foreign Affairs Committee, the lawmakers are responsible for overseeing the implementation of the Export Control Reform Act (ECRA). Under ECRA, the Commerce Department is required to provide the ranking members of the two committees any information obtained pursuant to the law "upon the request of the chairman or ranking minority member" of "a committee or subcommittee of Congress of appropriate jurisdiction."

"Given our concerns, we request that you make the following information available in writing to our committees regarding semi-automatic firearms and associated accessories," wrote the lawmakers, pressing for key information about the total number of licenses approved for firearm exports, a list of countries to which the exports were approved, a detailed accounting of all prior notifications provided to Congress, and more by April 13, 2026.

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