§2344 Methods of Payment for Acquisitions and Transfers by the United States

Summary

Allows the United States to get or give logistics support, supplies, and services by paying back costs, by replacing items with the same kind, or by trading items or services of equal value. When the U.S. makes reimbursable deals with NATO or other countries, the Secretary of Defense must try to set prices that work both ways: if a supplying country buys something from its contractors for another country, it must charge no more than what its contractors charge that country’s own military (after accounting for delivery and similar differences); if the supplying country gives items from its own stock or provides services with its government staff or agencies, it must charge the same price it charges its own armed forces. If the other country won’t accept those two-way pricing rules, U.S. forces may not buy nonconforming support, supplies, or services from that country unless the U.S. commander checks the price and finds it fair. Transfers from the U.S. to that country that are not covered by the two-way rules must follow the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2751 et seq.). The Secretary may also agree, on a reciprocal basis, to waive indirect or administrative charges. The same pricing and waiver rules apply to NATO bodies and the United Nations or regional international organizations. The Secretary may not trade for items the Department of Defense is barred from buying, any nuclear materials covered by the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.), or chemical munitions.