Foreign Military Sales (FMS) - Offsets

a)(3) Offsets.

(A) Offsets are the entire range of industrial and commercial benefits provided to foreign governments as an inducement or condition to purchase military supplies or services, including benefits such as coproduction, licensed production, subcontracting, technology transfer, in-county procurement, marketing and financial assistance, and joint ventures (Defense Offsets Disclosure Act of 1999, Pub. L. 106-113, section 1243(3)). There are two types of offsets: direct offsets and indirect offsets.

(i) A direct offset involves benefits, including supplies or services that are directly related to the item being purchased. For example, as a condition of a U.S. sale, the contractor may require or agree to permit the purchaser to produce in its country certain components or subsystems of the item being sold. Generally, direct offsets must be performed within a specified period because they are integral to the deliverable of the FMS contract.

(ii) An indirect offset involves benefits, including supplies or services that are unrelated to the item being purchased. For example, as a condition of a sale the contractor may agree to purchase certain of the customer's manufactured products, agricultural commodities, raw materials, or services. Indirect offsets may be accomplished without a clearly defined period of performance.

(B) Offset costs are the costs to the contractor of providing any direct or indirect offsets required (explicitly or implicitly) as a condition of purchase in a government-to-government sale of defense articles and/or defense services as defined by the Arms Export Control Act and the International Traffic in Arms Regulations.

(C) An offset agreement is the contractual arrangement between the FMS customer and the U.S. defense contractor that identifies the offset obligation imposed by the FMS customer that has been accepted by the U.S. defense contractor as a condition of the FMS customer’s purchase. These agreements are distinct and independent of the LOA and the FMS contract. Further information about offsets and LOAs may be found in the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) Security Assistance Management Manual (DSCA 5105.38-M), chapter 6, paragraph 6.3.9. (http://samm.dsca.mil/chapter/chapter-6).

Related Pages

Foreign Military Sales