The Defense MOU Attachés Group’s existence started in 1979 when a former  colleague from the Dutch Embassy invited the embassies’ Defense  Procurement and Defense Cooperation representatives from other MOU  countries to lunch. For a number of years it was a monthly luncheon club  hosted by one of the members with guest speakers from the U.S.  Government or industry.

As the Reagan years brought more restrictions, the British defense  acquisition staff fashioned the MOU Attachés Group from an informal  information exchange group to an active instrument to promote and defend  the reciprocal defense and offset MOUs with formal agendas, meetings  and minutes, similar to today’s format. The Group kept each member also  abreast with the continuing issues in the State Department’s export  controls rules and regulations (ITAR).

The Defense Cooperation Attachés are representing 27 nations that have  Reciprocal Defense Procurement (RDP) Memoranda of Understanding or  equivalent arrangements with the US. The Group meets with the purposes to  share information on issues of common concern and to discuss procurement  strategies and actions. The Group initiates joint responses and  follow-ups on these issues, and acts as common interface for the  Departments of Defense (DoD), Department of State (DoS), Department of  Commerce (DoC), Congress, and Industry.

In the U.S., the requirement to buy domestically takes the form of the Buy American  Act, passed in 1933, which precludes the U.S. Government from purchasing  supplies or finished goods from outside the U.S. without a waiver.  A  reciprocal defense procurement arrangement waives requirements for  government entities to buy products domestically, and allows both  countries to trade defense equipment with one another.  The U.S. Defense  Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) 225.872-1 states: “As  a result of Memoranda of Understanding and other international  arrangements, DoD [Department of Defense] has determined it inconsistent  with the public interest to apply restrictions of the Buy American  statute or the Balance of Payments Program to the acquisition of  qualifying country end products from listed qualifying countries”. DMAG  consists of the majority of the qualifying countries. 

DMAG  is very active in fighting overreaching Buy American, Mobilization  issues, and Industrial protection restrictions introduced by Congress in  its annual authorization and appropriation bills. The Group also acts  in support of the Department of Defense in fighting against such  restrictions.

For the participating members, the Group is an essential forum to exchange valuable information and experiences.