Since the Gun Control Act of 1968, the U.S. gun market has been isolated from the rest of the world when it comes to modern sporting rifles (a.k.a., AR-15 pattern firearms). 18 U.S. Code § 925 (d) gives the Attorney General power to decide whether a particular type of firearm can be imported into the United States based on a series of tests, one of which is the “sporting purpose” clause.
The intent: to appease traditional hunters and sportsmen (frequently referred to as “Fudds“). This law assured them a supply of foreign-made bolt-action rifles and break-action shotguns, while keeping scary black guns from entering the U.S. market.
In the intervening 49 years much has changed. What was once considered an “assault rifle” with no discernible sporting purpose is now one of the most popular hunting rifles in the United States. AR-15-style rifles are also used in numerous competition sports. The firearms clearly meet the “sporting purpose” criteria set out in the law
Due to the anti-gun stance of prior Attorneys General, 18 U.S. Code § 925 (d) was never altered/interpreted to allow the importation of AR-15s and other “modern sporting rifles.” As a result, the U.S. has remained a closed market for magazine-fed semi-automatic rifles, such as Russia’s AK-47.
Over the last couple years some gun companies have gotten around the restriction by importing a neutered version of a prohibited firearm that’s compliant with the import restriction. Customers modify the foreign-made gun to accept larger magazines and other parts (a complicated process dictated by something called 922(r), discussed here).
While it’s an effective end-run around the import ban, the added headache and legal uncertainties have limited sales, especially as compared to their American-made counterparts.
The other way around this law: establish an American subsidiary to manufacture guns born and raised abroad. That’s why companies like SIG SAUER, FN Herstal and GLOCK set up U.S. plants. This practice has created thousands of U.S. manufacturing jobs, improved local economies and increased U.S. weapons production capability.
With the inauguration of President Trump, there’s a chance that the Attorney General will expand the “sporting purpose” definition of 18 U.S. Code § 925 (d) to include modern sporting rifles of all stripes. With the stroke of a pen, the regulation encouraging and protecting American weapons manufacturers from foreign competition — for nearly five decades — would disappear.
If the foreign firearm floodgates open, larger gunmakers like SIG SAUER, FN and GLOCK aren’t likely to suffer. Their manufacturing, branding and distribution channels are extremely well-established. Besides, they need U.S. plants to satisfy lucrative government contracts. It’s the smaller gunmakers would be the most severely impacted.
During the Obama administration dozens if not hundreds of companies have popped-up around the United States manufacturing AR rifles and parts. With the election of President Trump sales are already dropping precipitously. If Chinese manufacturing plants start importing budget ARs and lower receivers, it would further squeeze profit margins for American-made ARs and parts.
Will it happen?
President Trump’s “America First” stance is all about protecting American jobs and doing away with disadvantageous trade agreements. While re-interpreting or removing the sporting purposes clause would open up a whole new world of new firearms for American gun owners and reduce prices, it would also spell doom of many smaller rifle manufacturers here in the United States. And the jobs that they sustain.
Which is why 18 U.S. Code § 925 (d) is unlikely to be repealed.
Cheap junk from China is good for certain things. An ar 15 receiver is not one of them.
You mean like those cheap junk Norinco AKs that are currently fetching a premium on GunBroker?
Norinco AKs are actually considered to be exceptionally high quality. China produces a lot of cheap junk for the rest of the world, but their AKs are solid.
But they weren’t considered high quality in the 80s when they were being imported. They were considered cheap Chinese junk. Opinions have changed
Actual reality: lazy and complacent American manufacturers are afraid of meticulously crafted SG550, AUG and HK416’s stealing their market share.
H&K would never be able to really compete due to their narcissitic level prices. Sig 550 series though, you are spot on.
This
Seems to me American manufacturers actually gave a crap about quality back when they actually had to compete with imports.
When they were cutoff American quality went to crap. You only have to look at companies like Remington Outdoors (ex Freedom Group), Colt, and others to hear the ramblings of people about how such and such American-made gun is not how they used to make them quality-wise.
Open up imports again and I guarantee you American companies like Remington will start to care about making good guns.
Colt managed to commit suicide without any foreign help, epic.
+10
The AUG is already sold in the US. The HK416 is a joke, it’s overhyped and overpriced to a ridiculous degree for no good reason. Sure, it’s well made, but no different from any other high quality AR already on the US market. The piston system is pointless, it’s only there so HK had something to patent, and actually makes the rifle shittier because it now has proprietary parts. At least HK hadn’t cottoned onto the idea of making a shitty proprietary version of Keymod to insure only they could make rails and accessories for it.
I’ll give you SIG though. The SIG guns are decent rifles that would do very well in the US, but I suspect they would be supplanting the AK market more than the AR market.
I have a Norinco 1911. I’m not a pro shooter, but that gun is awesome. It was something like $189 in the 90s and never jams with ball ammo.
The Chinese CAN make good stuff, when they want to do so.
A Chinese company makes junk when they don’t care about reputation because they are selling to others who rebrand their products. I don’t eat food from China, but Imwould buy a Norinco – they make good quality guns at low,proces.
This!!
Sorry, but my civil liberties Trump your profits. And yes, pun intended, of course.
But in all honesty, I’m unlikely to buy cheap foreign crap-ola.
There are gizillions of shooters and future shooters who will jump on the cheap Chinese bandwagon with no hesitation.
The allure of quantity over quality is alive and well in the gun community. Patriotism be damned.
I sure wish I had bought the 10 gun case of SKSs for $69 each. I should have bought 2 or 3! I just want some surplus ammo! I used to by the German 7.62×39 for 75 bucks delivered for over 1500 rounds of really nice painted steel case ammo that still works great.
Firearms are one of those things where it makes sense to protect American manufacturing. In case of war, we will not be importing our weapons from the enemy. I am sure China would like nothing more than to hollow out firearms manufacturing before they attack us.
They cannot attack us without a navy.
However, reducing American small arms manufacturing capability does have benefits.
Pip-squeak countries with no manufacturing capability may be persuaded to see things the Chinese way if China can deliver 2M AK pattern rifles in a week while the US needs a year to find guns that cost 5X as much.
Maybe access to Afghanistan’s Trillion dollar lithium mine might hinge on a firearms deal like this?
I agree China wants to weaken us, but there are lots of little prizes to beat us to before they even consider beefing up their navy (Phillipines for example).
China would only need a navy to invade us, but not to just attack us. No one can successfully invade the Untied States and somehow maintain an effective supply chain. China is more likely to attack anything sailing in the South China Sea than that it would send one of its (very few) nuclear missiles winging our way. China’s plan is to destroy American influence in the Far East, including Taiwan, Korea, Philippines (and all the other small countries on the eastern side of the Sea), and ultimately extend its own influence into all other Asian countries in the region, plus economic influence in Pakistan and Afghanistan, effectively surrounding India. China’s missile fleet is large enough to effectively intimidate and isolate Japan, and if a shooting war started, China is already practicing striking all military airfields and naval installations in a ballistic missile first strike (which China will say was not a first strike but instead a reaction to foreign aggression)..
While I think you’re right about extending their influence in Asia I suspect that the crown jewel which China wishes to possess is the Straight of Malacca.
With control or de facto control over that straight they can effectively hold a massive chunk of world commerce hostage and thereby hold the world hostage to their demands. Something like 25% of all all oil shipped internationally transits that straight. Then of course there’s the trade in rare earths which we are kinda dependent on at this point.
“When goods don’t cross borders, soldiers will”
-often attributed to Fredric Bastiat but that is likely an incorrect attribution.
If you’re talking certain electronic components necessary for our missiles, then you might have something. If you’re just talking small arms like rifles, then not so much.
Guerrillas making AKs in caves or otherwise procuring them have fought the U.S. military to, what our own general just described in congressional testimony as being, a stalemate in Afghanistan after 15+ years of war. I’m sure America’s machine shops could manage to arm the troops is the Chinese come calling even if some marginal companies drop out of the business.
“Firearms are one of those things where it makes sense to protect American manufacturing.”
I agree.
There is a way we can ‘have our cake and it it too’ on this.
Place a *very* stout tax on the imports.
High enough to motivate Americans to buy American, and yet keep the option open of getting the imported one available…
EDIT – And make the tax money generated available to support American shooting.
Like for building and maintaining public gun ranges, for example…
Do you really think you have the right to tell others where they can buy stuff from?
Do you *really* want to go where zero regulation ‘free trade’ leads?
You and I are of a similar vintage.
Remember Ross Perot’s ‘great sucking sound’ analogy?
Tariffs are as American as Apple Pie. The very first congress passed the Tariff Act of 1789. Throughout the first hundred or so years, most federal revenue came from duties and tariffs.
I am not defending tariffs mind you. But the fact of perpetual trade deficits means we are ever more in debt to the outside world, and need to sell off assets (like real estate) to pay the debt. China is a big buyer of real estate. Massive foreign debt is not consistent with liberty. Nor is outsourcing firearms and defense manufacturing. America can only survive as long as it remains economically strong and independent – which means at some point, trade deficits need to be rectified. Whether it’s tariffs, a weaker dollar, or something else, what cannot go on forever will stop.
Southeast Asia Co-prosperity Sphere
Sounds familiar.
Didn’t work out so well last time – something about awakening a sleeping giant?
The chances that the US government would use a Chinese supplier for military small arms are nil.
“Which is why 18 U.S. Code § 925 (d) is unlikely to be repealed.”
Everyone said the same for Trump. FFS we are finally in a position to reclaim our rights and may never have this chance again.
Could we be optimistic for once? The degree of pessimism I’m seeing in the gun community is completely ridiculous and unfounded.
When today’s Republican party is involved, optimism is rarely warranted. Through various permutations of incompetence, perfidy, cravenness, and stupidity, those clowns almost always manage to disappoint.
No one can honestly argue against the honesty of your comment. In my opinion.
Does that include our natural rights as enumerated in the 5th and 4th? I don’t think most Trump supporters give a whoot about those..
I’m torn on the trade agreement stuff. If American companies can’t compete with overseas companies in terms of cost and quality, then they need to up their game. Especially because overseas companies pay extra in shipping and time before their goods get to the US and A. On the other hand, good ol’ ‘Murica here quite often has onerous regulations slowing any company down unnecessarily and it’s not a level playing field.
All of that said however, if importing a more traditional shotgun doesn’t put Mossberg out of commission. Or importing pistols doesn’t stop companies like SCCY from starting up. Then it’s probably not that huge a deal either way.
The sporting clause doesn’t effectively keep anything out of our market, it just makes it more difficult for any design which is not compliant. There’s a slight premium in cost due to the labor of removing the sporting features and configuring the firearm as intended, but it’s often well worth it. Some manufacturers handle the conversion themselves (Arsenal), some leave it to the end user (Saiga), and others just get lucky/crafty and not classified as unsporting (Molot).
A repeal of this clause will not result in a sea change (be suspicious of any such hyperbolic claim, regardless of the context), it will merely lower the cost and increase convenience slightly.
Actually it does.
I can name you several companies that outright refuse to sell to us their military clones because of 922r and not wanting to deal with that hassle.
Did you know Chile make a licensed clone of the SIG-540? Never heard of it have you (but Canadian gun owners have because they don’t have our stupid import laws)? That is because 922r keeps it banned. FAMAE, the Chilean company, doesn’t want to spend the resources or has the ability to find a reliable U.S. partner stateside to import their guns.
Same can be said for Swiss Arms, AKA the real “SIG” that hasn’t bothered exporting any of their rifles since the first import ban of 1989 thus being stuck with inferior U.S. clones.
Then you have military rifles from Sako, Daewoo, Fort, Imbel, CIS, and a few others that flat out don’t want anything to do with our market because of the hassles of our import laws.
^^^This^^^
Get the fed out of the damn way and let the market decide.
US manufacturing ain’t what it used to be, because it doesn’t have to be.
I have to agree U.S. manufacturers will most likely not be affected buy the importation of firearms from China Malaysia Southeast Asia and other countries. Competition is good for capitalism and good competition to keep the US manufacturers on the ball. I see AK-47s and their variants will definitely be easier to get your hands on which is a good thing hopefully they’ll take the band off that so-called armor piercing ammunition crap so that you can actually shoot the 5.45 by 39 cheap as you want swear. You can definitely see the difference in quality of construction in some of these firearms but Collision a cough can be mass-produced really cheaply in these countries and imported to the people. I don’t see anything wrong with President Trump letting the importation of firearms for sporting purposes. I don’t see a problem because you’re talking about firearms that are clearly cheaper and may not be constructed as well but in some cases can give the u.s. gun manufacturers a run for their money this is all good in my opinion. That’s my $0.10 worth.
I thought the 7N6 ban already got lifted?
Nope, still banned.
Collision a cough… classic auto correct
Yeah, I had to re-read that about four times before I realized the commenter said/typed Kalashnikov.
Not expecting any big rollback from Trump et all…but I expected the Hildebeast to win and here we are?
“With the election of President Trump sales are already dropping precipitously.”
[Citation needed]
From what I have read, Black Friday was a record-setting day for NICS checks, and December 2016 was the second biggest month in history.
January 2017 saw 20% less gun sales than prior year. That’s one bad month, after several very good months. And it’s still the third best January in history.
One month does not a trend make.
I’d anticipate every month in 2017 will probably be weaker than the same month in 2016, but this perception that some have that there are going to be tumbleweeds and cobwebs inside of gun stores is completely off base. I’m certainly planning on making some purchases soon, and I’m know I’m not alone.
If I make the same amount of money I made this past year, it will take me about 2.5 years to buy everything on my gun/accessories with list that I have priced.
There are things on my list that I haven’t priced.
My list currently does not include any variable costs like ammo, cleaning supplies, range fees, any hunting costs, etc.
Point being, you are not alone/only reason I am not buying right now is because I have set a budget.
Just wait until we see the change between September through December 2016 and 2017. I’m sure there will be fake news stories using that data to show how gun sales are on the biggest decline in history or some such.
Yuck.
I don’t want to keep a “sporting purposes” regulation.
I dislike regulations in most forms.
But I can understand that while many gun buyers in the U.S. would like to give preference to a gun with” made in the U.S.A.” on it ( it’s why I favor Ruger and Henry), I’m under no illusions of what would happen to American gun manufacturing if we had to deal with cheaper Chinese imports. Hell, for that matter we’re getting more than a little competition from Turkey right now and a lot of the Turkish stuff is pretty damn good for the money.
This is one of those “have your cake and eat it too” paradoxes. Companies struggled to make it here would be sore tempted to outsource overseas.
Would any of us want to live in a world
where a genuine Colt rifle or pistol had the words “made in China” on it?
I don’t like buying ANYTHING made in China. I’d damn near buy it anywhere else if I could. You hear me Apple? You bastards aren’t fooling anyone with your “designed in the USA” tripe.
bLoving,
U.S. manufacturers can definitely compete if they want to. Can Smith and Wesson make the same revolver for the same price as Taurus? Probably not, but … the equivalent Smith and Wesson revolver most certainly does NOT cost $250 more to manufacture.
If I can buy a full-size .44 Magnum double-action revolver for $625 from Taurus or $665 from Ruger, I will buy it from Ruger every time. The problem is Ruger wants $850 or more for the same revolver. I am not willing to pay an extra 33% for something as simple as a revolver just so that it says “Made in the U.S.A.” on the side.
Free the markets the real patriots still buy local and quality !!
According to the ATF, 3-Gun is not a sport. Change that ruling and the whole “sporting purpose” clause is emasculated. That’s all that’s necessary to end-run federal obstructionism.
Well who died and made them referees and sports commissioners??? What does that say about IDPA, NSSF, IPSA, among many others? In addition some people like athletic shooting. Who are they to determine what is and is not a sport???
Two people who decide to pit their skills against each other using *any* imaginable thing have just created a sport / sporting purpose. Unelected bureaucrats can take a long walk off a short pier.
What does sporting purpose have to to with ones inalienable right to protect themselves or the right to keep and bear arms? The right to keep and bare arms shouldn’t be contingent on whether a weapon has a sporting purpose.
A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.
What does “sporting purpose” have to do with security of a free state? This “sporting purpose” is a bunch of feel good garbage that needs to be flushed.
You still have plenty of choices, even if some are taken off the table. You do not have a right to cheap foreign imports.
Sure we do! “Plenty of choices” =/= uninfringed. You don’t have the right to choose for me what I can and cannot have. Remember, “legal” has precious little to do with Constitutional, moral, or right and wrong. It’s just another way to crush freedom before the altar of the almighty state.
Um yes I do.
Last time I checked the 2nd Amendment had no clause saying “foreign guns don’t count”. We don’t ban foreign speech so the same should apply to guns as well.
Unless we are in a “real” state of war with said country (not the BS alarmist crap going around these days to anyone who questions America) any import ban on guns is unconstitutional, end of discussion.
FAL’s incoming?
I’d love to see the 922(e) regulations rescinded. I’ve built a few FALs from imported kits, and it always pained me to have to toss superior-quality FN parts and replace them with junk TAPCO pieces, just to comply with an arbitrary parts list.
If you want a FAL, go diving off the coast of Britain or raid a dictator’s armory in the Middle East or Africa. The best we could hope for is Imbel FALs, HK94 variants from HK, HK91s from Greece, Russian nuggets, Maks, SKSes, and Saigas, and Norinco M14s, SKSes, QBZ97s, AKs, and maybe ARs being imported. Everything else would have to be be tooled back up after 20+ years of discontinuation, and that’s probably not going to happen.
“That’s why companies like SIG SAUER, FN Herstal and GLOCK set up U.S. plants.”
Well, in the case of FNH, it was also to compete for US government work.
You can buy a brand new Glock today that’s made in Austria, or one that’s made in Smyrna, Georgia.
There were probably multiple reasons why Glock built a plant in the U.S. but it’s not because they can’t otherwise sell guns here.
Cheap China crap? MSRs are made in lots of other countries than China. The rifles I’m thinking of are from Eastern & Western Europe. Poland, Finland, Switzerland, Romania, Czech Republic, Germany, etc .
How about the Polish Radom MSBS, probably a better rifle than the SCAR. CZ Bren 806. Anything made by Valmet, or the real SIG. How about some of the cool MSRs from Beretta Italy. Or IWI Israel. Who cares about China.
This is all the stuff Banned by Bush’s (Senior) 1989 Import Ban.
What’s your response now that we are NOT talking about China? What we are really talking about are the MSRs of the world, many of which are much cooler than the AR15.
I would love a msbs or 806. Or G36. Or 433. Or even an AK that hasn’t been built from a parts kit or otherwise had open heart surgery. Or a Daewoo, fal, FNC. Bring them on!
Which shows you really don’t know what China offers.
I want their traditional Type 56’s, SKS’s (Canucks are awash with them), Type 81’s (that Canada just got on their market), Type 97’s, Type 03’s, TT-33’s, Mak’s, their modern pistols, etc. Yes even their American clones (I already have their M14 which I trust more than what Springfield puts out).
We can already get guns from all those other places except Switzerland and Finland.
I care about China. I especially care about the principle of it all that Canadians and Europeans can get them but we can’t. Even the tiny frickin island of Malta in the middle of the Mediterranean can get Chinese guns but we can’t. It is pathetic no matter how much you try to defend our ban because “China”. If we can ban guns from said country but people from other places can still get them then our 2nd Amendment doesn’t mean much and we don’t have the best gun freedom in the world.
I want their traditional Type 56’s, SKS’s (Canucks are awash with them), Type 81’s (that Canada just got on their market), Type 97’s, Type 03’s, TT-33’s, Mak’s, their modern pistols, etc. Yes even their American clones (I already have their M14 which I trust more than what Springfield puts out).
We can already get guns from all those other places except Switzerland and Finland.
Import bans or tariffs won’t help .22 prices as Winchester makes most of theirs plus a lot of .223 in Australia then imports it to USA
A lot of the ex Australian Army 7.62 mm FAL were sold to Canada when we adopted the Styer. Maybe some of them can get into USA
I do want to help the “home team,” however my preference is European cars and guns. The current laws require either neutered imports so you get weird thumbhole stocks on things like the Beretta carbine, the HK USC/sl8, Taurus g2 carbine, or everything coming as a pistol, sp5k, b&t everything, zenith/MKE, cz scorpion, 805 Bren (until they added US 922 parts). Or US facilities which means maybe domestic Sig but no G36, yes for mr556 but not the same models available on the international market. To be able to get what I want without having to be 922 parts complient would be awesome.
I can certainly imagine there would be competition. Maybe $5 Chinese poly AR lowers, $15 for aluminum? Maybe Remington would outsource R51 production, and maybe there would be some $75 Glock copies. I don’t know it would mess up everything though. You can get sub $400 Anderson rifles. Maybe eventually a $150 Chinese AR. But the existence of the cheap doesn’t seem to dissuade those buying LWRC, noveske, Daniel defense, BCM, etc for $1200-$2800.
People will pay for quality, brand reputation, even made in USA if you offer a good product, innovation. It might hurt small machine shops hoping to sell no-name milspec AR parts for ban prices.
Also with proposed EU and UN laws there is a good chance Europe and other areas won’t be able to sell us the good stuff anyway without moving here…
Anyway, less regulation gets my vote in the end.
Even with you’re import ban lifted, you still wouldn’t get a HK G36, because of German export and sale to civilians laws HK has to follow. That is one of the reasons why the HK Sp5 is slightly different to the real MP5.
Feels as if we always fall into the use of the lefts language, twisting Armalite into Assault. By the Socialist State of California S.S.C. being first to define into law the term, it has completely replaced the proper such name by the general public.
They should remove the regulations to provide more options for the American buyer. I honestly don’t believe that an AR lower receiver can be made in China and shipped here for much less than $45.00 (the price of a cheap one made here). They want a tariff? Fine. But at least lift the import bans.
I will vote for anyone who can deliver an AK-107 to the American market for as long as they run for office. Literally anyone.
If they can get me an actual HK UMP without having to buy parts kits and throw away half the rifle in the process, i’d vote for them twice per election.
is this what keeps the SVT’s out?
How about the chinese M14’s?
Those would be nice to get back in. I agree with the above posters that you are not likely to beat a $49 lower with an import.
We’ll be fine.
Sadly, chinese firearms like the M14 and SKS clones are regulated by an executive order by Bush Sr. Or was it Clinton? Either way, it’s not the sporting clause that keeps them out. Which is sad, because even Canada can buy chinese SKSes pretty cheap. Hell, a russian one in Canada is only $220can!
i had a Chinese SKS back in the 90s, paid something like $80 for it. Sold it after a couple of years. Now I kick my own ass when I think about it.
I’ve regretted selling most of the guns I’ve sold.
SVT and other Russian guns are banned by a “Voluntary Restraint” agreement signed by Clinton and Putin during the 90’s. The only things exempted were Mosin’s, German WWII surplus guns, sporting bolt guns, and sporterized AK clones like the Saiga/VEPR.
You would have to get Putin to agree to end it on his end which I am sure he would be happy to.
Make firearm trade policies fully reciprocative. If we can’t export ARs there, they can’t import here. If they only allow 1000 American imports per year, we will too. Whatever they tax on imports, so will we.
Should be enough for domestic manufacturers to remain competitive.
An even bigger change would be if mail order/internet sales without an FFL were no longer verboten (I believe that too was the GCA of 68) then brick-and-mortar gun stores would be dealt a near death blow.
Aren’t you the same dude that claimed ATF was going to start picking up HK machine guns?
IIRC the “sporting purposes” clause was added at the request of US firearms manufactures, at the time they were fighting the influx of cheap WWII surplus firearms.
The cheap ammo for guns that are considered obsolete(like Toks) should be allowed in the country. These guns work much better with the ammo they were designed for and it adds realism in the action.
When the ammo is finally released for sale here(if the prices come down), that will be my first rifle using handgun ammo. The Tok round would be the perfect crossover round.
I won’t buy a Chinese AR – but I would buy a Chinese AK.
Quite a few of the American AR “manufacturers” are really nothing but assemblers of other people’s parts. If they drop out of the market, they will not be missed.
Less regulation. Remove all agency rule making authority. Time for congress to nut up and take responsibility for these out of control agencies they’ve created. Play the dems some political posturing, like a bill repealing Pitman Robertson. They don’t want us to have guns and ammo, they can go ahead and figure out how to pay for land and wildlife management now. I say put the boot to em all now, distract and crush your enemies. See them driven before you, and hear the lamentation of Feinswein & Pelousi 🙂
The 1968 GCA was nothing more than appeasement for Fudds which has morphed into industry protectionism. If GCA68 goes the way of the dodo, then smaller American companies won’t be able to compete with cheap imports and would fold or merge unless the burdensome regulations which price domestic arms out of such a market were also repealed. Capitalism is a compete-or-die affair, and there’s no place for nationalist protectionism. Any repeal of GCA68 would need to be part and parcel of a rollback on other regulations to keep the market free and competitive.
I agree with this!!
I agree with what you say in principle, but “the burdensome regulations which price domestic arms out of such a market,” include environmental regulations, OSHA, minimum wage, other worker’s rights, intellectual property laws, etc. Also, China cheats when they manipulate their currency and requires U.S. companies to have a Chinese partner to set up a factory.
There really is no such thing as free trade. Just about every country cheats. We have a 25% tariff on trucks. Europe has price controls on pharmaceuticals that prevent the recapture of research costs, shifting such costs entirely to the American market.
If we had a border adjustment tax based on all of these considerations, then I’d be all in favor of “letting the market decide.”
I’ve got a Norinco 1911, faithful old Government clone with the arched mainspring housing. No annoying series 80 firing pin safety with that stupid tiny spring that gets misplaced easily. It was cheap and it still is awesome for an “old timey” 1911. I think it was $189 new in the 90s. Wont eat HP but never gets indigestion with ball.
My new Colt 1991 (it’s a series 80 1911, they should have must called it a 1911) had to go the factory for rework, but not my old Norinco 1911. Granted, the new feed ramp on the 1991 feeds HP with no issues, but still, the firing pin locked forward.
Let Norinco back in!
Guns aren’t like refrigerators, you can still buy several for your home. Got an AR15? You can buy another. Or 4. So this is not a one time purchase, that’s why the market is vast and able to expand.
Exactly
Who just buys one gun and calls it quits unless they really are not in to guns anyway (or a criminal)? That isn’t the market gun makers should be chasing to begin with.
Id love to see firearms imported and it would make it possible to expand my collection without too many versions of what is basically rhe same designs made over repeatedly. Competition can only bring out the best from every manufacturer
Hm, any examples of protectionism bringing better product to customers?
It is already happening. Most people are just unaware that their “American Made” firearms have Chinese receivers, South Korean barrels, and Indian MIM parts kits. I won’t name any of the large corporations that buy these foreign goods, but if the rifle sells for $499 or less, you can do the math.
The trick is that they import the parts in 80% condition so they don’t get hung up on import bans. The foriegn company then uses a US subsidiary to finish the goods inside the country, and then they ship them to the final “manufacturer” on a mark variance for assembly. Since the receiver has an American city engraved on the side, no one ever thinks twice about it.
If the ports ever close or we go to war, we will see just how weak we really are as a country.
As a U.S. citizen living (temporarily) in Canada I would like to see the ban lifted. If I buy/build an AR here I can’t legally import it when I return to the U.S. I can’t Form 6 the receiver and the upper/barrel are considered parts on the ban list.
If I can get Foreign guns for relatively good prices I’d never buy American piece of crap ever, no more 70 year old designs without any improvements.
What people don’t know is that the same AK type rifle that is made for us buyers is the same thing they shoot. It may be ok for a American or even Chinese kid to suck on a happy meal toy painted with lead paint and somebody may loose their job (I doubt it) but if you mix up a US bound gun with a Chinese army gun and it goes kaboom…you are frucked!
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