Exporters Already Starting To Feel Impact Of Ex-Im Demise

Print Friendly Version of this pagePrint Get a PDF version of this webpagePDF

One week ago today, the Export-Import Bank was forced to close its doors to new business as a result of Congress’s failure to reauthorize its charter. Now, U.S. exporters and manufacturers face an uncertain future, fearful that the loss of Ex-Im’s critical financing tools will cause them to lose business to foreign competitors and scale back their workforces. Without an immediate vote by Congress to reauthorize the Bank, businesses around the country will suffer.

See below for a list of job creators highlighting the damage and uncertainty they are facing because of lawmakers’ inaction.

~Kate

 

Manufacturer In U.S. Nuclear Industry Says It Has “Over 100 Jobs At Stake” If Ex-Im Bank Is Not Reauthorized. “For Stouch, who works at the Pennsylvania company that makes nuclear parts and employs 260 people, it’s shocking that Congress would let the bank’s charter lapse – and he’s a self-identified fiscal conservative. ‘Potentially we’ve got over 100 jobs at stake, linked to either our or our customers’ ability to export these products,’ Stouch says, listing instances where his company was able to seal deals only with backing from the Export-Import https://exportersforexim.org/files/2015/07/bank.” (Jared Gilmour, “Why The U.S. Nuclear Industry Is Eager To Save This Obscure, Government-Run https://exportersforexim.org/files/2015/07/bank,” The Christian Science Monitor, 7/2/15)

 

California Power Plant Manufacturer Says Demise Of Ex-Im Bank Will Put Company “In Jeopardy Of Cutting Down On Our Staff And Projects.” “‘I think we would seriously be in jeopardy of cutting down on our staff and projects’ without Ex-Im Bank financing, said company president Kusum Kavia, who added that many of the manufacturer’s materials come from other companies in Riverside County, so there would be a ripple effect. ‘We are just shocked that this could ever happen to the United States, where small businesses like myself are not able to compete in the global economy.’” (Ben Bergman, “How Export-Import https://exportersforexim.org/files/2015/07/bank shutdown could affect socal businesses,” Southern California Public Radio, 7/715)

 

Minnesota Manufacturer Calls Ex-Im Demise A “Poison That Will Kill Jobs.” “Abolishing the bank could devastate U.S. exports of Boeing large commercial aircraft, which support 10,000 high-skill workers in Minnesota. Across America, Boeing relies on over 15,000 subcontractors and suppliers in 49 states. Each of those companies prove that even when Ex-Im helps a big company like Boeing close a sale, thousands of small companies reap the benefits. And even though my company isn’t directly impacted, because we don’t use the Ex-Im Bank, we know anything that hurts the larger aerospace industry hurts us… They say they want to cure our economy, but the medicine they prescribe is actually poison that will kill jobs.” (Wendell Maddox, “Don’t Abolish US Export-Import https://exportersforexim.org/files/2015/07/bank,” St. Cloud Times, 6/29/15)

 

President Of Aerospace Industries Association Says That Without Ex-Im, Foreign Competitors Will “Snatch The Trade Opportunities That Otherwise Would Support Jobs At American Firms.” “‘The Chinese export credit agency and agencies like it around the world will be eager to step in on behalf of America’s competitors and snatch the trade opportunities that would otherwise support jobs at American firms,’ says Melcher. ‘Every day that goes by sends the message to potential overseas customers that they are better served buying products from countries other than ours.’ Thousands of businesses ‘from small mom-and-pop shops to large corporations benefit both directly and indirectly from the Bank’s loan guarantees,’ he said, adding that ‘failure to restore the Bank will strike a blow at companies across the American economy, putting their employees at risk while handing our foreign competitors a huge advantage.’” (Michael White, “Failure To Reauthorize Ex-Im Bank Called A ‘Missed Opportunity,’” Global Trade Magazine, 7/2/15)

 

Small North Dakota Manufacturer Says Loss Of Ex-Im Will Make It Difficult To Compete “Against The Whole International Scale.” “Hedger’s Killdeer Mountain Manufacturing (KMM), headquartered in a town with a population of 751 people, makes parts for airplanes…Some of Boeing’s foreign customers, in turn, use the Ex-Im Bank to finance the purchase of planes. And with the aid of those low-interest loans, Boeing – and by extension Hedger’s company – remain more competitive in the global aircraft market against the likes France’s Airbus. ‘These are small, heartland towns, and generally we’re the biggest employer in our towns,’ says Hedger, who runs four manufacturing facilities in the state. ‘It’s important that while we recognize we’re heartland communities, we’re competing against the whole international competition scale.’” (Ginger Gibson, “Who Killed The Ex-Im Bank? How Conservatives And The Koch Network Brought Down An Agency,” International Business Times, 7/2/15)

 

President Of Boeing Commercial Airplanes Says It Will Be At A “Huge Competitive Disadvantage” Without The Ex-Im Bank. “Loss of U.S. Export-Import https://exportersforexim.org/files/2015/07/bank financing would put boeing co at a ‘huge competitive disadvantage’ since its rivals still have access to such financing support, the head of the company’s commercial aircraft division told reporters on Monday…’We absolutely need Ex-Im Bank to compete on a level playing field,’ Conner said after a ceremony marking delivery of the first 787 Dreamliner to Vietnam Airlines, an aircraft that was purchased with the help of Ex-Im financing.” (Andrea Shalal, “Boeing Says Loss Of Ex-Im Bank Would Be Competitive Disadvantage,” Reuters, 7/6/15)

 

Ex-Im Demise Will Hurt Not Just Exporters But Also “Could Have A Significant Impact On Trade-Finance Banks.” “‘Ex-Im assumed risks that trade finance banks are unable or unwilling to accept and guaranteed payment of the debt,’ Mr. Campbell told Miami Today. ‘The lapse in Ex-Im’s authority could have a significant impact on trade-finance banks in South Florida and require these banks to change their business models.’” (Carla Vianna, “Ex-Im Bank Lapse Leaves Big Trade Gap,” Miami Today, 7/7/15)

 

Nebraska Exporters Are Anxious About Ex-Im Lapse Because “It Gives Them The Opportunity To Expand Into International Markets That They Wouldn’t Otherwise Have.” “Lawmakers could reinstate the bank’s charter this month, but until then, companies like Warren Distribution, the Omaha manufacturer that used the bank to insure its shipments, have to go elsewhere…’Especially for medium-sized businesses, it gives them the opportunity to expand into international markets that they wouldn’t otherwise have,’ said Warren Distribution Credit Manager Jim Hushka.” (Cole Epley, “Area Companies Anxiously Watch Future Of Export-Import https://exportersforexim.org/files/2015/07/bank,” Omaha World-Herald, 7/8/15)

 

New York Business Owner Says U.S. Is Going To “Lose Exporting Power” Without Ex-Im. “​Susan Axelrod admittedly got into business by accident. The Long Island, New York, housewife began making quiches in her home kitchen in 1973, and grew her company, Love & Quiches Gourmet, in part by exporting her products to places such as Qatar and Japan…If the bank’s charter is not reauthorized, ‘the U.S. is going to lose our exporting power,’ Axelrod said. ‘China and other exporting countries are chomping at the bit to take that business.’ She said as much as 30 percent of her business comes from international markets.” (Kate Rogers, “Entrepreneurs Who Do Biz Overseas Await Bank’s Future,” CNBC, 6/29/15)

 

California Small Business Owner Says Ex-Im Lapse Will Be “Devastating.” “‘It’s going to be devastating for us,’ said Don Nelson, chief executive of ProGauge Technologies Inc., a Bakersfield manufacturer of oil industry equipment. ‘Basically, we just won’t be able to export anymore.’” (Jim Puzzanghera, “Export-Import https://exportersforexim.org/files/2015/07/bank’s cloudy future raises worries of job losses,” Los Angeles Times, 6/26/15)

 

Concerned Citizen: “Make No Mistake: The Export-Import https://exportersforexim.org/files/2015/07/bank makes a difference here.” “Then there’s Gulfstream, a vital industrial employer and corporate presence in our community. Ten years ago, 18 percent of the fleet was based outside the United States. Today that figure is 35 percent. Sixty percent of its backlog is international. Make no mistake: The Export-Import https://exportersforexim.org/files/2015/07/bank makes a difference here.” (William Broker, “Reauthorize The Ex-Im https://exportersforexim.org/files/2015/07/bank,” Savannah Morning News, 6/26/15)

 

Failure To Reauthorize Ex-Im Means That It “Soon Will Be Impossible” For Some Exporters To Attract International Business. “‘We could never work with these companies without the Export-Import https://exportersforexim.org/files/2015/07/bank,’ mcfee said. ‘Before we could not find a private creditor to help us with this’…Soon it will be impossible, McFee said, to get new foreign business, which is typically the company’s largest orders.” (Lincoln Wright, “Loss of Ex-Im Bank Could Affect Local Manufacturers,” South Bend Tribune, 6/28/15)

 

The Loss of Ex-Im Could Be “Bad News To A Number Of Large And Small Businesses In Minnesota.” “Killing Ex-Im, as the bank is known, would not kill Frame’s company. ‘But it would certainly put a dent in our capabilities and would have a ripple effect on people here and backward through our machine shops and material suppliers,’ he said…This will come as bad news to a number of large and small businesses in Minnesota. Since 2007, Ex-Im Bank has helped 217 companies in the state secure $3 billion in foreign sales, the government said.” (Jim Spencer, “Congress Plans No Votes On Export-Import https://exportersforexim.org/files/2015/07/bank as authorization set to run out,” Star Tribune, 6/27/15)