The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) has confirmed that Norwegian-produced defense materials are exempt from tariffs when exported to the U.S. This is stated in a declaration from the Norwegian Defence and Security Industries Association (FSi).
The exemption is based on Norway being classified as a so-called qualified country under the U.S. regulation DFARS (Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement) through a bilateral agreement with the U.S. on defense procurements. This means that Norwegian defense materials are considered American for tariff purposes upon import to the U.S.
FSi, together with the Norwegian Embassy in Washington, has worked to have this interpretation confirmed by U.S. authorities. According to FSi, the DoD has now clarified that the tariff exemption applies, but it requires that relevant contracts include the applicable DFARS clause on duty-free entry.
The background is that several Norwegian defense companies expressed uncertainty after new tariff regulations were introduced earlier this year by the U.S. government. In some cases, contracts lacked the necessary reference to DFARS, something the DoD noted through an internal message on August 25, urging correction of this issue.