The Trump administration is preparing to make it easier for American gunmakers to sell small arms (including assault rifles and ammunition) to foreign buyers, according to senior US officials.

Aides to President Donald Trump are completing a plan to shift oversight of international non-military firearms sales from the State Department to the Commerce Department, four officials told Reuters.

While the State Department is primarily concerned about international threats to stability and maintains tight restrictions on weapons deals, the Commerce Department typically focuses more on facilitating trade.

The officials from multiple agencies, speaking on condition of anonymity, say the new rules will cut government red tape and regulatory costs, boosting US exports of small arms and creating jobs at home.

“There will be more leeway to do arms sales,” one senior administration official said. “You could really turn the spigot on if you do it the right way.”

The push fits both Trump’s support for the gun lobby espoused on the campaign trail, and his “Buy American” agenda.

But critics, including some lawmakers and arms control advocates, have expressed concern that any easing of export rules could make powerful weapons (of the type often used in US mass shootings) more accessible – to the very criminal gangs and militant groups that Trump has vowed to fight.

The administration has all but finalised a draft of the new rules, which could be sent to the White House budget office for review within days, one US official said.

They officials also said that the changes – which can be enacted without congressional approval – could be made public this fall, followed by a period of public comment, with implementation as early as the first half of next year.

They stressed, however, that the proposed shift in oversight was not a blanket deregulation of firearms.

“The NSC is working through the interagency process with the State Department and the Department of Commerce to ensure that US industries have every advantage in the global marketplace, while at the same time ensuring the responsible export of arms,” said an official with the White House National Security Council (NSC).

The move, part of a broader Trump administration overhaul of weapons export policy that the officials say is also nearing completion, comes at a time when US gunmakers could use the help.

Domestic gun sales have fallen significantly after soaring under President Barack Obama, when gun enthusiasts stockpiled weapons and ammunition out of fear that the government would tighten gun laws.

Since Trump was elected in November, the share price for Smith & Wesson owner American Outdoor Brands Corp is down 50 per cent and Sturm Ruger has fallen 26 per cent.

On Tuesday, following a Reuters report on the administration’s plans, the share prices of Sturm Ruger and American Outdoor surged as much as 18 percent.

Both stand to benefit from easier export protocols, alongside Vista Outdoor and the private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management, which owns Bushmaster (a brand of AR-15 assault rifle).

The powerful US gun lobby backed Trump in the 2016 election. The National Rifle Association spent more than $30m (£22.2m) in support of his candidacy. “I am going to come through for you,” Trump told the NRA convention in April.

The State Department licenced an estimated $4bn in commercial firearms exports last year, of which $3.2bn would shift to Commerce under the new arrangement, one US official said.

In recent years, Canada, Australia, Thailand and Saudi Arabia have been among the top destination countries for US non-military firearms exports, according to US Census data.

The shift to Commerce could increase sales by 15-20 per cent annually, predicted Lawrence Keane, senior vice president for the National Shooting Sports Foundation, a firearms industry trade association.

The effort to streamline US small arms export controls dates back to an Obama administration initiative begun in 2009, but which was never translated into policy.

The process was repeatedly stalled by a series of US mass shootings, including one at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut in 2012, in which 20 children and six adults were killed by a gunman using an AR-15-style assault rifle.

Assault rifles like the Bushmaster are some of the most powerful weapons expected to be more readily available for commercial export under the new rules, which are largely in line with proposals the Obama administration had crafted.

Democratic Senators Ben Cardin, Dianne Feinstein and Patrick Leahy urged against any rash regulatory changes in a letter to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Friday, saying combat firearms are the “primary means of injury and destruction in civil and military conflicts throughout the world”.

Zlatko Hadzismajlovic, a New York attorney specialising in export controls, said the changes would be a tough “stress test” for US arms policy.

“The transition appears particularly ill-timed,” he said, citing recent Islamist militant attacks in Europe and heightened regional tensions on the borders of Nato members such as Turkey and the Baltic states.

Administration officials say they are not looking to greenlight dangerous sales but that it is unrealistic to continue to hamstring US gun makers in foreign markets.

For instance, they point out, AR-15 rifles are already readily available worldwide since the technology is decades old, the weapons are sold in US sporting goods stores and parts can be reproduced using a 3D printer.

The new rules would move both the licensing and supervision for export of most non-military firearms and ammunition to Commerce officials, who have been directed by Trump to ease the overall regulatory burden on US exporters.

Commercial gun exports would no longer be given the same scrutiny as missile and fighter jet sales, which often require congressional approval.

Donald Trump's international Presidential trips Show all 22 1 /22 Donald Trump's international Presidential trips Donald Trump's international Presidential trips French President Emmanuel Macron and US President Donald Trump AFP/Getty Images Donald Trump's international Presidential trips French President Emmanuel Macron and US President Donald Trump talk as they leave the Army Museum at Les Invalides in Paris AFP/Getty Images Donald Trump's international Presidential trips German Chancellor Angela Merkel and US President Donald Trump arrive for the group photo at the G7 Taormina summit on the island of Sicily in May 2017 Getty Images Donald Trump's international Presidential trips Mr Trump was pressed on the subject at the G7 summit in Italy Getty Donald Trump's international Presidential trips US President Donald Trump gives a speeech at the Warsaw Uprising Monument on Krasinski Square Getty Donald Trump's international Presidential trips US President Donald Trump and Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May during a ceremony at the NATO headquarters before the start of a summit in Brussels, Belgium Reuters Donald Trump's international Presidential trips Montenegro's Prime Minister Dusko Markovic is seen to the right of Donald Trump at a Nato summit in Brussels REUTERS Donald Trump's international Presidential trips Pope Francis meeting with US President Donald J. Trump EPA Donald Trump's international Presidential trips Pope Francis poses with US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump AFP/Getty Images Donald Trump's international Presidential trips US President Donald Trump arrives at Palazzo del Quirinale ahead of the meeting with Italian President Sergio Mattarella Ufficio Stampa Presidenza della via Getty Donald Trump's international Presidential trips US President Donald Trump is seen during a joint press conference with the Palestinian leader at the presidential palace in the West Bank city of Bethlehem AFP/Getty Images Donald Trump's international Presidential trips Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas meets US President Donald Trump PPO via Getty Donald Trump's international Presidential trips Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks with US President Donald Trump prior to the President's departure GPO via Getty Images Donald Trump's international Presidential trips US President Donald Trump and Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shake hands after delivering a speech at the Israel Museum AFP/Getty Images Donald Trump's international Presidential trips US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump lay a wreath in the Hall of Remembrance as White House senior advisor Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump watch on during a visit to the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial museum AFP/Getty Images Donald Trump's international Presidential trips US President Donald Trump visit to Yad Vashem Holocaust museum in Jerusalem accompanied by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu GPO via Getty Images Donald Trump's international Presidential trips US President Donald Trump takes his seat before his speech to the Arab Islamic American Summit in Riyadh in Saudi Arabia Reuters Donald Trump's international Presidential trips Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud, US President Donald Trump and US First Lady Melania Trump look at a display of Saudi modern art at the Saudi Royal Court in Riyadh AFP/Getty Images Donald Trump's international Presidential trips US President Donald Trump and Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud take part in a signing ceremony at the Saudi Royal Court in Riyadh AFP/Getty Images Donald Trump's international Presidential trips King Salman presents Donald Trump with The Collar of Abdulaziz al-Saud Medal at the Royal Court Palace on 20 May AP Donald Trump's international Presidential trips US President Donald Trump is welcomed by Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud upon arrival at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh AFP/Getty Images Donald Trump's international Presidential trips U.S. President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump walk on the South Lawn prior to their first foreign trip Getty Images

“Commerce wants more exports to help reduce the trade deficit. And State wants to stop things because it sees (arms) proliferation as inherently bad,” one of the officials said.

“We want to make a decision that prioritises what’s more important,” the official said. “This will allow us to get in the (small arms sales) game for the first time ever.”

The shift would officially move weapons like assault rifles and handguns from State’s tightly restricted Munitions List to the Commerce Control List (CCL), which allows for more streamlined licensing for overseas sales.

US companies compete for foreign market share with companies such as Austrian manufacturer Glock and Italian gun maker Beretta.