U.S. Chamber of Commerce supports EXIM

(US Chamber of Commerce, Washington, 1 July 2021) In a letter to the Committee on Appropriations of the U.S. House of Representatives, the Chamber noted that overseas markets represent 95% of the world’s consumers and 80% of its purchasing power. Exports already support half of all manufacturing jobs, and one in three acres of American farms is planted for hungry consumers overseas. Approximately 300,000 small- and medium-sized businesses export, accounting for one-third of all merchandise exports. The International Affairs budget and the agencies it supports play a vital enabling role for U.S. companies to tap foreign markets and create jobs and prosperity at home. The Ex-Im bank provides vital financing and guarantees to help American businesses export. In the last pre-pandemic fiscal year when the Bank was fully functional (FY 2014), Ex-Im backed export sales that supported more than 164,000 American jobs. That same year, 90% of Ex-Im’s transactions — more than 3,340 — directly supported American small businesses. Far from being a burden on the taxpayer or a subsidy for corporations, Ex-Im charges fees for its services that has generated $7 billion in revenue for the U.S. Treasury over the past two decades beyond funds it received in appropriations. Failure to support Ex-Im would amount to unilateral disarmament in the face of other nations’ aggressive trade finance programs.