We need your help in getting the EXIM bank reauthorized!
The EXIM Council on Small Business requests your input via the linked EXIM Survey to aid agency leadership in gaining a better understanding of the bank’s current level of awareness, perception, and satisfaction within the export community.
We encourage all DEC members to take this short survey (see link below), and to share the link with fellow colleagues and business partners who are involved in exporting. The survey will be open through the end of February.
EXIM is an important resource for many DEC members, providing key credit risk mitigation and financial support that would otherwise not be available to U. S. exporters.
EXIM Bank Survey:
https://universityofalabama.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_dd94imhHcwWqAaa
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About EXIM
Bill Cummins, Member, 2024 EXIM Council on Small Business and Vice Chair, Alabama District Export Council
February 4, 2024
EXIMBANK – 90 Years Young!
2024 marks the 90th year of the The Export-Import Bank of the United States! EXIM, as it is most commonly known, was established in 1934 as the Export-Import Bank of Washington by an executive order of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Its mission was “to aid in financing and to facilitate exports and imports and the exchange of commodities between the United States and other Nations or the agencies or nationals thereof.”
EXIM is the official export credit agency (ECA) of the United States federal government.[1][2] Operating as a wholly owned federal government corporation,[1] the bank “assists in financing and facilitating U.S. exports of goods and services“,[1] particularly when private sector lenders are unable or unwilling to provide financing. Its current chairman and president, Reta Jo Lewis, was confirmed by the Senate on February 9, 2022.[3]
Per its original charter as a “sunset agency,” EXIM must be periodically reauthorized by Congress. Following a brief lapse in Congressional authorization on July 1, 2015, which prevented the bank from engaging in new business, it was reauthorized through September 2019. In December 2019, President Donald Trump signed the Export-Import Bank Extension into law, which authorized the bank until December 31, 2026. Beginning next year, NADEC will once again undertake an initiative to advocate in support of EXIM’s reauthorization which may, as before, face some stiff opposition in Congress (largely due its misperception as an example of corporate welfare).
EXIM equips U.S. exporters with various financial tools such as buyer financing, export credit insurance, and loan guarantees. When U.S. exporters face foreign competition backed by other governments, EXIM provides buyer financing to match or counter the financing offered by some 100 ECAs around the world. The bank’s products are intended to assist export sales for any American export company regardless of size.
CEO and president of the National Association of Manufacturers Jay Timmons stated: “The EXIM plays a critical role in manufacturer’s ability to export to new markets and keep up with growing global competition. The Bank assists (tens of thousands of) export related jobs and each year is helping more and more small and medium-sized manufacturers grow their businesses and hire new workers. More than 85% of all EXIM transactions directly benefit small business exporters—the economic engine that powers our economy and job creation.”
EXIM supports hundreds of U. S. exporters each year, below are just a few examples . . .
Competitive Engineering Inc. (CEI), a small business based in Tucson, Arizona, provides engineering and manufacturing solutions to a diverse world market. Maintaining cash flow is a crucial aspect for a small business like CEI and can be jeopardized when orders cannot be filled. To meet demand for their products, CEI needed to obtain a loan to finance the production of export-related goods and services. CEI turned to EXIM’s Working Capital Loan Guarantee (WCLG) to find a lender that would include foreign accounts receivable as collateral in its borrowing base.
EXIM allows high tech start-up companies like AcousticSheep to financially protect themselves, grow their business, and export at an extremely affordable cost. Dr. Wei-Shin Lai, co-founder of AcousticSheep, comments “Our interests with EXIM are absolutely aligned, and we couldn’t imagine a better solution for our business. We realized that any time you want to grow or scale, there is risk involved, and EXIM has allowed us to take on opportunities that we otherwise would have balked at.”
Lastly, for most users of EXIM, it’s about mitigating the financial risks of selling overseas, “There is only one thing worse than not getting an international order – that is going through the complexities to ship the order, and then not getting paid! EXIM ensures a company of getting paid and supporting its ability to compete worldwide,” Thomas Shorma, former CEO of WCC Belting.
For more information on how EXIMBANK can help your exports grow, visit exim.gov.
References: Wikipedia, exim.gov
To learn how EXIM can assist your business in starting or expanding your export journey, schedule a free consultation with a trade finance specialist today.
