Title 22, Foreign Relations and IntercourseRelease 119-110

§2796d Loan of Materials, Supplies, and Equipment for Research and Development Purposes

Title 22 › CHAPTER 39 — ARMS EXPORT CONTROL › SUBCHAPTER VI — LEASES OF DEFENSE ARTICLES AND LOAN AUTHORITY FOR COOPERATIVE RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT PURPOSES › § 2796d

Last updated Sep 22, 2026|Official source

Summary

The Secretary of Defense may lend or accept as a loan or gift materials, supplies, or equipment to or from a NATO or major non‑NATO ally for joint research, development, testing, or evaluation. Each loan or gift must be written down in an agreement. Testing that checks standardization, interchangeability, or technical details is allowed if the ally gives the test results to the United States for free. Loaned items can be used up or destroyed without paying the U.S. back if the Secretary finds it necessary and approves it. The Secretary cannot lend strategic and critical materials if doing so would make the National Defense Stockpile (see 50 U.S.C. 98b) fall below the amount the President has required. A “NATO ally” means any NATO country other than the United States.

Full Legal Text

Title 22, §2796d

Foreign Relations and Intercourse, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Loan or gift transactions; written agreement; covered programs
(1)Except as provided in subsection (c), the Secretary of Defense may loan to a country that is a NATO or major non-NATO ally materials, supplies, or equipment for the purpose of carrying out a program of cooperative research, development, testing, or evaluation. The Secretary may accept as a loan or a gift from a country that is a NATO or major non-NATO ally materials, supplies, or equipment for such purpose.
(2)Each loan or gift transaction entered into by the Secretary under this section shall be provided for under the terms of a written agreement between the Secretary and the country concerned.
(3)A program of testing or evaluation for which the Secretary may loan materials, supplies, or equipment under this section includes a program of testing or evaluation conducted solely for the purpose of standardization, interchangeability, or technical evaluation if the country to which the materials, supplies, or equipment are loaned agrees to provide the results of the testing or evaluation to the United States without charge.
(b)Reimbursement of consumed materials, etc.
The materials, supplies, or equipment loaned to a country under this section may be expended or otherwise consumed in connection with any testing or evaluation program without a requirement for reimbursement of the United States if the Secretary—
(1)determines that the success of the research, development, test, or evaluation depends upon expending or otherwise consuming the materials, supplies, or equipment loaned to the country; and
(2)approves of the expenditure or consumption of such materials, supplies, or equipment.
(c)Prohibitions
The Secretary of Defense may not loan to a country under this section any material if the material is a strategic and critical material and if, at the time the loan is to be made, the quantity of the material in the National Defense Stockpile (provided for under section 98b of title 50) is less than the quantity of such material to be stockpiled, as determined by the President under section 98b(a) of title 50.
(d)“NATO ally” defined
For purposes of this section, the term “NATO ally” means a member country of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (other than the United States).

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Amendments

1996—Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 104–164 struck out “or major non-NATO” after “NATO” and “or a foreign country other than a member nation of NATO designated as a major non-NATO ally under section 2350a(i)(3) of title 10” after “(other than the United States)”. 1991—Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 102–25 substituted “section 2350a(i)(3) of title 10” for “section 2767a of this title”.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

22 U.S.C. § 2796d

Title 22, Foreign Relations and Intercourse

Last Updated

Sep 22, 2026

Release point: 119-110