Is Congress told about offsets in Foreign Military Sales?

As the number and variety of offset programs has increased, so has the concern of many government agencies, private industries, labor officials, and the media over the impact of offsets on U.S. domestic industries. These concerns include the impact of these trade practices on American jobs, the U.S. balance of payments, technology transfer, and the long-term consequences for the U.S. and foreign economies. The President is required to submit to Congress an annual report on the impact of offsets on defense preparedness, industrial competitiveness, employment, and U.S. trade. The Secretary of Commerce prepares the report in consultation with the Secretaries of War, Treasury, and State and the U.S. trade representative.

The AECA, Sections 36(b)(1) and 36(c)(1), require congressional notification of proposed FMS and commercial export sales, which include offset agreements. The information provided to Congress includes a general description of the performance required for the offset agreement. This description should indicate if a known offset requirement exists, whether the country has a standard offset requirement, if the offsets provided will be direct or indirect, and the estimated percentage of each. If there is no offset agreement at the time of the notification, that should be so stated. Offset reporting is treated as confidential information that remains classified even after the statutory congressional notification is complete.