F-16 offset agreements - negotiations finally reaching an end

The government offset team and Lockheed Martin have decided on compensation agreements worth $3 billion. The difficult talks are slowly approaching an end, at least in their legal dimension. Jacek Piechota, the Secretary of State at the Economy and Labor Ministry, disclosed that the hardest task encountered during negotiations with the American group were the offset's legal issues. On average, the realization of offset deals worldwide constitutes 65% of the contract value. Under Polish law, the supplier must offset 170% of the deal's value otherwise, according to the restrictive regulations, he would bear responsibility and would be obliged to pay compensation. "For the Americans this deal is one of the biggest in history, which is why they put forward many questions," said Piechota, who admits that the regulations hinder negotiations. (Puls Biznesu, p. 9) A.C.