2032).

 

Unconditional purchase obligations are defined as an agreement to purchase goods or services that is enforceable and legally binding on the Company. Included in the unconditional purchase obligations category above are certain obligations related to take or pay contracts, capital commitments, service agreements and utilities. These estimates include both unconditional purchase obligations with terms in excess of one year and normal ongoing purchase obligations with terms of less than one year. Many of these commitments relate to take or pay contracts, in which 3M guarantees payment to ensure availability of products or services that are sold to customers. The Company expects to receive consideration (products or services) for these unconditional purchase obligations. The purchase obligation amounts do not represent the entire anticipated purchases in the future, but represent only those items for which the Company is contractually obligated. The majority of 3M’s products and services are purchased as needed, with no unconditional commitment. For this reason, these amounts will not provide a reliable indicator of the Company’s expected future cash outflows on a stand-alone basis.

 

As discussed in Note 10 to the Consolidated Financial Statements, the Company does not have a required minimum pension contribution obligation for its U.S. plans in 2006. Thus, Company contributions to its U.S. and international pension plans are expected to be largely discretionary in 2006 and future years. Contractual capital commitments are also included in the preceding table, but these commitments represent a small part of the Company’s expected capital spending in 2006 and beyond.

 

FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS

The Company enters into contractual derivative arrangements in the ordinary course of business to manage foreign currency exposure, interest rate risks and commodity price risks. A financial risk management committee, composed of senior management, provides oversight for risk management and derivative activities. This committee determines the Company’s financial risk policies and objectives, and provides guidelines for derivative instrument utilization. This committee also establishes procedures for control and valuation, risk analysis, counterparty credit approval, and ongoing monitoring and reporting.

 

The Company enters into foreign exchange forward contracts, options and swaps to hedge against the effect of exchange rate fluctuations on cash flows denominated in foreign currencies and certain intercompany financing transactions. In 2001, the Company increased the amount and duration of its foreign currency hedges to help lessen year-over-year impacts and to improve the predictability of future earnings. However, this hedging program does not make 3M immune to currency impacts.

 

The Company manages interest rate risks using a mix of fixed and floating rate debt. To help manage borrowing costs, the Company may enter into interest rate swaps. Under these arrangements, the Company agrees to exchange, at specified intervals, the difference between fixed and floating interest amounts calculated by reference to an agreed-upon notional