United States Foreign Military Sales program and congressional notification processes

The United States (U.S.) government's Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program is a means for foreign allies and partners of the U.S., including Canada, to acquire defence articles, services, and training through government-to-government agreements. The FMS program is overseen by the Department of State and is managed and executed by the U.S. Department of Defense.

Canada may secure industrial and technological benefits (depending on the value of the purchase and on whether the U.S. is negotiating commercial contracts on behalf of Canada). The U.S. government is not directly involved in the process of negotiating such benefits, but the U.S. government may need to approve the arrangements directly with U.S. suppliers through separate licenses.

Government of Canada purchases through the United States Foreign Military Sales program: Process and steps

Step 1: Letter of request

• The Government of Canada initiates the potential process by submitting its detailed requirements to the U.S. government through a letter of request and supporting statement of work
• The letter of request is then routed to the appropriate implementing agency within the U.S. Department of Defense

Step 2: The United States government works with suppliers to develop a proposal

• This step is not always required; for instance, when buying from U.S. stock or adding to an existing contract
• Throughout this process, the U.S. government will work with the purchasing country to ensure requirements are fully understood in order to develop a high-quality proposal

Step 3: Congressional notification, where required

• Potential foreign military sales above a certain value require notification of the U.S. Congress
• The implementing agency submits a request to the Defense Security Cooperation Agency, the agency responsible for coordinating the Foreign Military Sales program, in order to initiate U.S. interagency approvals and ultimately the drafting of a congressional notification
• The Department of State conducts a comprehensive review of the draft congressional notification to determine whether the proposed sale supports U.S. foreign policy goals, national security objectives, regional stability and consistency with international agreements and arms control initiatives
• Once the State Department approves the sale and congressional notification, the formal notice is submitted to the U.S. Congress. The U.S. government issues a public notice to announce the notification to Congress of the potential sale. After a period of 15 days, if Congress does not block the sale, the potential sale is considered approved
• It is important to note that the amount of the actual sale may never reach the amount of the Congressional Notification. Congressional Notification estimates are considered an ‘up to' amount

Step 4: Letter of offer and acceptance

• Once congressional notification is complete, the U.S. government implementing agency provides a letter of offer and acceptance to the Government of Canada. This is a comprehensive document outlining how it would meet Canada's requirements in response to the Government of Canada's letter of request
• The letter of offer and acceptance includes detailed and refined costing, a proposed program of training and set-up activities (if required), a planned delivery schedule as well as a potential deadline for response
• The standard terms and condition of the letter of offer and acceptance are non-negotiable, as they apply universally to all foreign military sales costumers; however, the Government of Canada is under no obligation to accept the proposal, unless it meets its needs

Step 5: Responding to the letter of offer and acceptance

• The Government of Canada reviews the proposal to ensure it meets requirements at an acceptable cost, schedule and level of capability
• Canada may also finalize side agreements with potential U.S. government contractors to secure economic benefits for Canadian industry
• A formal response is sent to the U.S. government indicating acceptance
• If Canada chooses not to accept the offer, Canada can choose to respond or simply allow the date to pass

More information on the United States Foreign Military Sales program

Defense Security Cooperation Agency

Date modified:

2017-09-22