Boeing says Exim Bank vital for the US amid competition from China

(The National, Abu Dhabi, 3 October 2018) Planemaker Boeing said the US Export-Import Bank (Exim), the country’s export credit agency, [sic – return?] to its full lending powers is vital to the country’s economy and the company’s ability to compete with global rivals. The US is locked in an escalating trade war with economic rival China in a tit-for-tat round of tariffs. The long-hobbled US export credit agency, which facilitates export deals between American manufacturers and overseas buyers, has been in limbo for three years due to congressional inaction. In 2018, export credit is expected to remain a “marginal” share of aircraft financing but export credit agency volumes will increase to stable levels from historical lows this year, Boeing said. [Export credit agencies are major funders of aircraft – in 2010 about 50% of all Airbus deliveries were covered by export credit agencies. ECAs allocate about a third of their long-term financing to aircraft sales, the largest representation of any sector.]