The US Department of Justice has published draft changes that would remove Ukraine from the list of countries subject to restrictions on arms imports into the US.
This was written by the Ukrainian Ambassador to the United States Olha Stefanishyna in a private Telegram channel. Her post is quoted by Interfax-Ukraine.
If approved, these rules would allow the United States to permanently import certain categories of Ukrainian weapons, ammunition, and their components. They would also remove regulatory barriers to Ukrainian defense manufacturers entering the US market.
The new approach means that applications for firearms imports from Ukraine will no longer be automatically rejected. They will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
The public comment period for the draft will last until July 6. After that, the US Department of Justice will consider the comments in the final version of the rules, which will undergo interagency approval.
- The 1997 US-Russia Voluntary Arms Import Control Agreement prohibited the US from approving applications for permanent imports of firearms and ammunition from Russia, Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. If the rules are approved, Russia will remain the only country on that list.
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