Offset, also known as countertrade, is a financial and contractual tool—a complicated form of bartering—which allows large international purchases to be made without upsetting trade balances or foreign exchange markets, or requiring large cash transfers or an easily convertible currency. The recent agreement by Poland to purchase 46 F-16 Falcon jets from American corporation Lockheed Martin included a massive offset program, purchases from Polish manufacturers that more than erase the costs of the deal in foreign exchange.
