November 26, 2003 (by Eric L. Palmer) -
A look at how "offsets" and other agreements figure into an important F-16 sale. With offset agreements being the only way to make the sale, the following article gives a bit of a snapshot of how the F-16 is sold. In the end, it is usually the U.S. taxpayer that picks up the tab.
Below is a quote from the article
Offset deals: is half a loaf better than none? by Frida Berrigan, World Policy Institute (4/4/03).
"Lockheed Martin recently signed a $3.5 billion contract with Poland for 48 F-16 fighter planes (which Poland will purchase with $3.8 billion in loans from the U.S.). But Aerospace Daily reports that Poland is negotiating an offset package that could be worth more than $6 billion.
William D. Hartung, Senior Fellow at the World Policy Institute, notes that "there are twice as many workers employed building the F-16 in Ankara, Turkey (2,000), as there are at Lockheed Martin's principle F-16 plant in Fort Worth, Texas (1,155)." The U.S. is losing more than 4,000 jobs each year as a result of offset agreements, according to a 2001 Presidential Commission."
