What a buyer may say about the contract

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1. The buyer is not at the table

On a foreign military sales case the contract is between the United States government and a company. The partner government paying for it is not a party, and the manual treats keeping it out of the negotiation as the normal case rather than a slight.

Discussions happen earlier instead. They are "held with the purchaser during the development of the LOA and prior to actual implementation to ensure requirements are clear and understood" (SAMM C6.3.5). After signature, the contracting machinery takes over and runs on ordinary procurement rules.

The drafting agency is expected to make the document good enough that nobody needs the buyer in the room. "The IA should ensure that sufficient details are included in the LOA to allow the U.S. contracting officer to negotiate and award a contract without requiring foreign country representation or direct involvement in the formal negotiation process" (SAMM C6.3.5). What goes into that document is described in inside the Letter of Offer and Acceptance.

2. Two things a buyer cannot do

The first limit is on choosing the company. "The DoD Components do not accept directions from the FMS purchaser as to source selection decisions or contract terms" (SAMM C6.3.5.1), apart from the special contract provisions and warranties the agreement itself refers to.

The limit runs down the supply chain as well, since the purchaser is not "permitted to interfere with a prime contractor" (SAMM C6.3.5.1) in the placement of its subcontracts. There is one recognized route in the other direction: the components "may honor an FMS purchaser" (SAMM C6.3.5.1) request for a named prime or subcontract source, within the sole source rules.

The second limit is blunter. "Requests by the FMS purchaser for rejection of any bid or proposal will not be honored" (SAMM C6.3.5.2). A partner may not veto a bidder.

3. What a buyer is actually encouraged to do

Exclusion from negotiation is not exclusion from the technical conversation. Partners "should be encouraged to participate with USG acquisition personnel in discussions with industry to develop technical specifications, to establish delivery schedules, identify any special warranty provisions or other requirements unique to the FMS purchaser" (SAMM C6.3.5.2), and to review prices across alternatives, quantities and options in order to make trade offs between price and performance.

The contracting officer is also expected to keep the buyer informed of anything that matters. Consultation is owed on major contractual matters, "especially any matter that could be perceived as inconsistent with or significantly different from the LOA" (SAMM C6.3.5.2).

How far participation goes is one person’s call. "The degree of participation of the FMS purchaser during contract negotiations is left to the discretion of the contracting officer after consultation with the contractor" (SAMM C6.3.5.2).

4. The redacted statement of work, and thirty days

Company information is protected inside this process. "USG personnel should not release any contractor proprietary data, except in those limited cases where the contractor authorizes release of specific data" (SAMM C6.3.5.2).

There is a defined middle path. On request and at discretion, the contracting officer may give the buyer a version of the statement of work "that redacts any information companies deem proprietary, and any information that cannot be released under technology security and foreign disclosure policy as information only and not for general comment" (SAMM C6.3.5.2). Two filters therefore apply: what the company treats as proprietary, and what release policy allows. Release policy is covered in technology transfer and release decisions.

Comment is possible but narrow. "International customers may have 30 days to comment on areas where they can demonstrate that there is a significant deviation from the LOA" (SAMM C6.3.5.2). The test is deviation from the agreement, not dissatisfaction with the contract. Questions on any of it go to the agency director (SAMM C6.3.5.2).

5. Work that may start before the case exists

A separate provision lets the government begin acquisition planning before the agreement is implemented, which shortens the gap between signature and contract. Two conditions apply: the activity must already be funded by the administrative surcharge, and the agency must have high confidence the agreement will be accepted and implemented (SAMM C6.3.11).

The boundary is absolute. "No acquisition planning activity may, in any way, commit the USG or obligate funds in advance of case implementation" (SAMM C6.3.11). Nor may the early start become a reason for delay elsewhere, since agencies "must ensure early execution of acquisition planning activities does not delay LOA offer and implementation" (SAMM C6.3.11).

One line marks the point where preparation becomes procurement. "Acquisition activities occurring after requirements definition, such as Request for Proposal (RFP) release, may not commence until after case implementation" (SAMM C6.3.11). Nothing reaches industry before the money is real.

6. What may be done early, and what is reported

The permitted list is specific: "acquisition strategy formulation; acquisition planning document development, such as drafting the performance work statement/statement of work and detailed item description; cost, schedule, and performance objectives definition; funding document preparation" (SAMM C6.3.11.1), plus other work to develop planning documentation.

That is the paperwork a contract needs, produced while the agreement is still being signed. It is also the reason a case can sometimes move to contract award surprisingly quickly.

The authority is watched. One office "will monitor IA use of the authority in order to measure effects on overall case performance" (SAMM C6.3.11.2), and agencies must report quarterly on the types of activity performed and the time spent on each. "Reports are due on the first Tuesday of the month following the end of a quarter" (SAMM C6.3.11.2).

The published template shows how the time is counted, with business days multiplied by the number of staff involved, so two full days for three program office staff is recorded as six days (SAMM Figure C6.F2).

7. What a supplier can take from this

A partner government sitting in a technical discussion is normal and expected. The same partner asking for a bidder to be dropped, or trying to reach into subcontract placement, is outside the rules, and a company hearing that kind of request should recognize it will not be actioned by the contracting officer.

The proprietary protection is worth using deliberately. A statement of work can reach the buyer redacted, and what gets redacted depends on what the company has identified as proprietary. Marking material properly before it goes into the package is what makes that protection work.

Finally, planning work may already be done when a case implements, but nothing can go out to industry before then. A proposal request that appears immediately after implementation was drafted earlier; one that appears months later was not.

Key terms

Source selection	The choice of contractor, which the buyer may not direct, though it may request a named source under the sole source rules.
Redacted statement of work	A version released to the buyer with proprietary and non-releasable content removed, for information rather than comment.
Significant deviation	The only basis on which a buyer may comment, within 30 days, on what the contract says.
Acquisition planning authority	Permission to prepare contract documents before implementation, provided nothing commits the government or obligates funds.

Every statement above links to the document behind it. The full source list for this piece is on the sources page.

This page describes public United States government programs for general information. It is not legal, regulatory or procurement advice, and it does not address the facts of any particular case.

How Sentfore supports this

Contracts are awarded long before anything reaches the country it was bought for. Sentfore works at the delivery end of defense programs in difficult environments, providing secure movement, protective security, facilities and life support. Requirements can be sent through the contact page.