The DISAM Journal (published by the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA)) recently contained an interesting article that highlights the interplay between purchasing country offset requirements and US export controls.  According to the article, the US government has denied certain export licenses that are important to Lockheed’s offset requirements to support the indigenous KFX fighter program as part of Lockheed’s sales of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter to the Republic of Korea.  According to DSCA statistics, 2015 was a landmark year for foreign arms sales by US contractors, as well as requests by foreign governments.  Many of these sales had parallel offset requirements.  As the Korea case demonstrates, contractors that wish to pursue significant foreign sales will need to be mindful of collateral export control risk associated with offsets, even if the underlying sales might otherwise be partially exempt from export control requirements under the FMS program.