ILMA Compoundings - May 2019 - 12

INDUSTRY RUNDOWN

Export-Import Bank
Remains in Limbo

Despite the Senate Banking Committee's overwhelming
bipartisan approval of President Donald Trump's four
board nominees, the Export-Import (Ex-Im) Bank still lacks
the quorum it needs to consider deals over $10 million.
The Ex-Im Bank of the United States, a government
agency, provides loans and other tools to help U.S. businesses looking to export their products to foreign markets.
Ninety-six other countries have similar systems in place to
support exports with insurance and loan guarantees.
The bank has been operating under acting Chairman
and President Jeffrey Garish, but the Ex-Im board needs a
quorum to consider deals over $10 million. With only one
seat filled, a quorum is impossible to achieve at present.
The nominees slated to fill the seats once the full Senate
holds a vote are Kimberly Reed, who will become the bank's

MAY 2019

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president, and Claudia Slacik, Judith DelZoppo Pryor and
Spencer Bachus, who will fill the remaining seats on the
board. So, why does the bank remain in limbo?
Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) and a rather vocal minority are
being blamed for holding up the Senate vote. Toomey, who
is a longtime critic of the Ex-Im Bank and who has reportedly referred to it as corporate welfare, says that while he
will support confirming Reed as bank president, he will not
allow other nominees to advance until reforms have been
implemented.
During a committee hearing, Toomey admitted to being
a skeptic about the Ex-Im Bank and its fundamental mission. Toomey added that in his view, the Ex-Im Bank forces
taxpayers to subsidize companies, distorts markets and picks
winners and losers.
In a report by CBS Philly, acting First Vice President
Scott Schloegel responded to that criticism, saying, "The
ones who are obstructing the bank from getting back to full
functionality are the ones who are picking losers."
The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) is
urging the Senate to vote to confirm all nominees. NAM
Vice President Linda Dempsey wrote, "With the Ex-Im
Bank severely weakened, manufacturers in the United States
are losing sales to foreign competitors who are backed up by
nearly 100 other export credit agencies around the world."
Dempsey also pointed out that virtually every major
country, from Canada to China and the U.K. to Ukraine,
provides export financing tools, and that China provided
$45 billion in medium- and long-term investment support
for projects around the world, which is more than the rest of
the world combined.
In a letter to Senate leadership, NAM stated, "The NAM
estimates that, since Ex-Im Bank lost the ability to operate
fully nearly four years ago, manufacturers have lost at least
$119 billion in manufacturing output, translating into
80,000 fewer manufacturing jobs in 2016 and 2017."
The letter also said that those losses undermine the U.S. manufacturing base and offshore jobs and that losses will continue
to grow each day that the Ex-Im Bank remains hobbled.

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ILMA Compoundings - May 2019

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