(30 June 1999) This report from Nicholas Hildyard of Cornerhouse examines export credit agencies, corporate welfare and policy incoherence.
Summary: Export Credit Agencies (ECAs) are publicly-backed government agencies that give financial guarantees to companies operating abroad. They are now the single largest source of taxpayer support for companies operating in the countries of the South and Eastern Europe. Projects backed by such export credit agencies — from dams to weapons to power stations — are frequently environmentally destructive, socially oppressive or financially unviable. It is the poorest in these countries who end up paying the bill. With rare exceptions, the major ECAs lack mandatory environmental and development standards, and are secretive and unaccountable.
