The fourteenth Annual Report to Congress on the Impact of Offsets in Defence Trade has revealed a large drop in the value of new offset agreements. In 2008, fourteen U.S. defence contractors reported making 52 new offset agreements with seventeen countries. The deals were valued at $3.48bn, an amount equal to 57.1 percent of the total $6.10bn in reported foreign defence sales.
As offset punch-ups go, this was shaping up to be a good one. Now Portugal?s Permanent Commission on Offsets (CPC) wants to settle its differences with Ferrostaal and has told CTO that it is hopeful a negotiated solution can be found.
The Czech Republic and Slovakia announced last October they had reached agreement for the joint purchase of 130 Iveco light armoured vehicles, with the offset benefits to be shared proportionally between them. The Czech MoD has now concluded a contract for 90 Iveco light armoured vehicles, but they have gone ahead alone.
A key priority of South Africa?s industrial policy action plan will be to ensure the local procurement of goods and services required for the country?s infrastructure development. The building programme is being undertaken by, among others, parastatals Eskom and Transnet.
Reports of a Singapore arms firm being 'blacklisted' in India on corruption charges are far from being so, said Brig. Gen. Patrick Choy, Chief Marketing Officer of Singapore Technologies Kinetics (ST Kinetics).