Germany: Small arms down, light weapons up

German authorities have approved €16.6 million ($19.1 million) in small arms exports in the first half of 2018, suggesting a downward trend when compared to last year's overall figures, reported German public broadcaster ARD on Tuesday.

The data, provided to the Greens by the government in answer to a formal parliamentary inquiry from the opposition party, showed that small arms exports in 2017 amounted to €76.5 million.

However, Katja Keul, Greens spokeswoman for disarmament policy, said she was skeptical that the export trend for small arms in 2018 would continue through the rest of this year.

Keul told DW that there were political developments during the first half of 2018 that could have contributed to the decrease, including an interim government "that postponed major decisions."  

She also pointed to the distinction between small arms and light weapons. According to Berlin, German companies exported nearly €56 million worth of light weapons during the first half of 2018, significantly more than in all of 2017.

"The German government's figures on small arms exports are misleading and euphemistic because they undercut light weapons," Keul told DW. "Light weapons can spread as uncontrollably as small arms, but are often even more destructive."

Small arms vs. light weapons

Small arms are weapons that tend toward the lower end of the caliber spectrum, including handguns and rifles.

While light weapons are characterized as still being suitable for a single person to carry, operate and reload, they tend to have significantly more firepower, such as a grenade launcher or a larger caliber rifle.

Although the German government appears to report the two separately in the parliamentary inquiry, they are generally classified as one category: small arms and light weapons, or SALW.

Read more: Heckler & Koch quietly becomes world's most ethical gunmaker

Downward trend
Arms trade can be a controversial subject in the country, in part due to Germany's World War II history. Arms exporters must receive approval from Germany's economy ministry before completing a deal, with several more government ministers and the chancellor involved the decision-making process.

Several times over the past five years, German officials have pledged to reduce the country's arms exports. It has witnessed a significant decrease since 2015, when it exported a record-breaking €7.86 billion ($9.05 billion) in arms.

Read more: Arms trade hits highest level since Cold War: study

Since then, arms exports have declined. In 2017, arms sales amounted to €6.24 billion ($7.19 billion), down roughly 9 percent compared to the year before. However, it still represented the third-highest annual total, beaten only by 2015 and 2016.

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