Current offset obligations amount to over CHF 5 billion
Published: Thursday, Jan 25th 2024, 15:20
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The obligations of foreign suppliers of military equipment to Switzerland currently amount to CHF 5.14 billion. Of this amount, orders worth around CHF 1.94 billion had been placed with Swiss industry by the end of 2023. This is according to figures published by the Confederation on Thursday.
From 2024, the Confederation will publish quarterly rather than half-yearly offset register figures. Compensation or offset transactions occur when the Confederation orders military equipment abroad. As a rule, foreign suppliers must commit to offset transactions with Swiss industry.
The register currently lists 18 offset programs per procurement project with foreign suppliers, terms and corresponding open offset obligations, as the Federal Armaments Office (Armasuisse) wrote. The register also shows the Swiss companies commissioned, the type of offset transactions and the regional distribution by language.
The offset fulfillment for the purchase of the 36 F-35A fighter jets is around CHF 693 million or 27% of Lockheed Martin's commitment. For the longer-range ground-based air defense system (Patriot), orders worth around 202 million francs have been placed with Switzerland to date. This is around 19 percent of the offset obligation of the US manufacturer Raytheon. Both offset obligations must be fulfilled by the end of 2034.
Armasuisse has published a register of banking agreements for the first time. Such an agreement can be concluded at the request of a foreign provider if an offset obligation is likely. With this register, the Federal Office wants to comply with a recommendation of the Control Committee of the Council of States (CC-S) for more transparency.
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