December 4, 2015

Last night, the U.S. Congress approved a five-year reauthorization of the U.S. Export-Import (Ex-Im) Bank as part of the $305 billion U.S. highway funding plan. The Ex-Im Bank, which previously expired in June, has played a vital role in expanding our binational region’s economy by allowing small and large businesses to expose their products to the global market.

How the Ex-Im Bank Works

Businesses who wish to sell their goods in the global marketplace may appeal the Ex-Im Bank to grant loans to foreign customers. With a new loan, foreign customers are now enabled to purchase U.S. goods at a competitive price.

What This Means For San Diego

With nearly 60 other countries using a similar mechanism to boost their own exports, the San Diego region stands to lose a lot without the Ex-Im Bank’s help. In San Diego County alone, the Bank has supported a total of $2.8 billion in exports from 107 exporters. 80 percent of these came from small businesses.

The Chamber applauds our San Diego Congressmembers (Rep. Susan Davis, Rep. Duncan Hunter, Rep. Darrell Issa, Rep. Scott Peters, and Rep. Juan Vargas), the California congressional delegation, and other members of Congress for supporting the Ex-Im Bank’s reauthorization and advocating on behalf of our region’s businesses.

The bill will now await its final approval from the President.