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Reauthorization of the Export-Import Bank

The Export-Import Bank of America, a key component in our country’s competitiveness strategy, has expired after failing to achieve reauthorization. In San Diego County, the bank has supported $2.8 billion in exports spread over 107 exporters. The Chamber continues to advocate for its reauthorization.

The Export-Import (Ex-Im) Bank is a key component in our country’s competitiveness strategy, supporting hundreds of thousands of jobs while promoting economic growth. The Ex-Im Bank works by facilitating American exports through direct loans and loan guarantees, export credit insurance, and working capital finance. When companies are looking to export products overseas the Bank can provide the export credit insurance to cover a sale to a European company, or a letter of credit that allows an American company to bid on an overseas contact.

For the first time in 81 years since its inception, the Ex-Im Bank has expired after failing to achieve reauthorization. As a result, new financing to companies and foreign countries has come to a halt. (The bank will continue to run for the duration of existing loans.) The Bank plays a crucial role in our economy and is particularly apparent in small businesses’ efforts to expand their global reach. In San Diego County, the bank has supported $2.8 billion in exports spread over 107 exporters. Eighty percent of exporters supported in San Diego are small businesses.

The Chamber actively advocates for the reauthorization of the Ex-Im Bank. We continue efforts to reauthorize the bank via a new measure to be considered later this year.


Status

Ex-Im Bank – approved by Congress

On Tuesday, October 27, Congress successfully voted for the reauthorization of the Ex-Im Bank 313/118. The vote was able to take place following our recent delegation trip to Washington, D.C., during which the Chamber gained the necessary amount of petition signatures to send the Ex-Im issue to Congress for a vote. The Chamber is in strong support of the Ex-Im Bank, as it remains a vital component for small companies wishing to compete at the global market. Pending approval by the Senate remains, however their support has been expressed previously in the passage of another piece of legislation.

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