In the area of IMPORTED "assault rifles" it has specific meaning to this day. It indicates that the entire rifle, meaning receiver as well as it's complete configuration, was assembled at the foreign factory and that no US manufactured parts are installed. These rifles are prized by collectors for their originality. Post-Ban rifles either include a minimum number of US parts, or are manufactured on US receivers. This has led to considerable variability in quality, and as they are not "original manufacture" in every respect they lose a portion of their desirability to collectors. AK's and their variants (Galil, Valmet, etc) are the most commonly considered rifles in this category. You cannot purchase a completely original factory manufactured AK imported today. All have either been manufactured here, or have been re-manufactured here prior to sale. Ditto FAL's of every type, HK-91, 93, 94, etc., etc., etc.
Since manufacturing and re-manufacturing has been done by firms ranging in quality from DSA and Arsenal to the Drunken Monkeys at Century, those rifles manufactured and boxed at their original factories have a higher value ascribed to them by collectors who are willing to pay a premium for the originality and factory quality control.
Compare by Gunbroker search the values of the following:
IMI Galil v/s Century Golani
FN/FAL as imported by Browning or Steyr v/s any other US assembled FAL's.
HK-93 v/s Century C-93
Egyptian MAADI AK or NORINCO AK v/s any AK's put together from parts kits in the USA.
etc., etc. etc....
Willie
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