On Oct. 25, 2022, the Department of Defense (DOD) and Ministry of Defence (MOD) of the Republic of Latvia entered into a bilateral, non-binding Security of Supply Arrangement (SOSA) to provide reciprocal priorities support for goods and services that promote national defense. The arrangement will enable both the U.S. and Latvia to acquire the industrial resources they need to quickly meet defense requirements, resolve unanticipated disruptions that challenge defense capabilities, and promote supply chain resiliency.
The SOSA was signed by U.S. Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Base Policy (PDASD(IBP)) Michael Vaccaro and Under Secretary of State for Logistics Latvian Ministry of Defense Mārtiņš Paškēvičs at a signing ceremony in Riga, Latvia prior to the U.S.-Baltics Defence Industry Day.
“DOD is honored to enter into the SOSA with the Latvian MOD,” said PDASD(IBP) Vaccaro. “The SOSA is a testament to the strength of U.S.-Latvian cooperation that our two countries began over a hundred years ago and we are proud to continue today. The arrangement is a symbol both to each other and to the world that the U.S. and Latvia will support one another’s defense industrial needs when possible, in turn bolstering our assurances of supply during peacetime, emergency, and armed conflict.”
Through the SOSA, the U.S. and Latvia commit intent to support one another’s priority delivery requests for procurement of critical defense resources. The U.S. will provide Latvia some assurances under the U.S. Defense Priorities and Allocations System. Latvia will in turn establish a government-industry Code of Conduct with its industrial base, where Latvian firms will voluntarily agree to make every reasonable effort to provide U.S. priority support.
SOSAs are an important mechanism for DOD to strengthen interoperability with defense trade partners. The arrangements establish communication mechanisms, institute working groups, streamline DOD processes, and proactively act to allay anticipated supply chain issues.
Latvia is the U.S.’s tenth SOSA partner. Other SOSA partners include Australia, Canada*, Finland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.
About the Department of Defense’s DPA Title I Program:
The DPA Title I program for the Department of Defense is dedicated to ensuring the timely availability of essential domestic industrial resources to support national defense requirements. DPAS is a self-operating system established by the Defense Production Act Title I: Priorities and Allocations and other statutes, and legally binding for all U.S. companies and U.S. subsidiaries of foreign companies. The DPAS is administered by the Department of Commerce, who has delegated use for national security procurements to the Department of Defense. DPA Title I has been delegated authority down from the Secretary of Defense to oversee the prioritization and allocation of all national security contracts and orders rated under DPAS. This authority grants DOD, in conjunction with DOC, the jurisdiction to prioritize and allocate defense supply chain needs to mitigate constraints, as required by national security. DPA Title I’s efforts support needs from all elements of the U.S. defense industrial base, including from within DOD and its delegate agencies, from foreign partners and from industry partners. By executing its mission, the DPA Title I program ensures the nation is prioritizing the supplies it needs to meet the U.S. and its partners’ national security demands in today’s ever-evolving threat environment.
For additional information on SOSAs, please see the Title I website at https://www.businessdefense.gov/security-of-supply.html.
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