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WASHINGTON - Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) President and Chairman Kimberly A. Reed yesterday gave keynote remarks to The Economic Club of Florida as part of the organization's Distinguished Speaker series, as well as participated in a roundtable discussion hosted by the Florida Chamber of Commerce.

In her remarks to The Economic Club of Florida, Chairman Reed underscored EXIM's commitment to industries key to Florida success such as manufacturing, agriculture, biotechnology, telecommunications, and space. In celebration of Made in America Week, she also highlighted several Florida companies, like Motortronics and Ben Kaufman Sales that have used EXIM products to grow their business and support their workers.

Chairman Reed speaking to The Economic Club of Florida

During her remarks, Chairman Reed and Florida Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Mark Wilson, who also serves as Chair of the National Association of State Chambers of Commerce, announced that EXIM and the National Association of State Chambers of Commerce will partner together in phase two of EXIM's All America initiative.

"The U.S. Congress wants EXIM to do even more when it comes to reaching and empowering businesses in Florida and across our great nation-including rural and women-, minority-, and veteran-owned businesses. We want to empower U.S. businesses to compete in the global marketplace and take actions to grow their revenues and sustain American jobs through exports," said Chairman Reed. "The National Association of State Chambers will help EXIM 'go local' as we work to reach and deliver critical products and services to businesses through digital tools like webinars and video conferences."

"Making America more competitive is what State Chambers of Commerce and EXIM do and by partnering together to grow American jobs and exports, the National Association of State Chambers and EXIM are helping America compete," said Wilson.

"The Economic Club of Florida strives to place world class speakers in front of our distinguished members. Today we hit a home run!" said Economic Club of Florida President Bill Moor.

"Creating an opportunity to remind Floridians of the importance of capturing our share of the global market was a key takeaway by our speaker EXIM Chair Kimberly Reed," said Economic Club of Florida Chair Cindy O'Connell.

Chairman Reed also presented EXIM's Exporter of the Year award to Greenfield World Trade, a small business in Ft. Lauderdale, FL that provides foodservice equipment and supplies worldwide. Greenfield World Trade Corporate Vice President, International, Jonathan Vadnos accepted the award on behalf of the company, which employees 450 U.S. workers.

Chairman Reed's full remarks can be accessed here and will be broadcast on National Public Radio WFSU.org Member Stations on Friday, October 9 at 7:00 p.m.

While in Tallahassee, Chairman Reed also participated in a roundtable discussion hosted by the Florida Chamber of Commerce to discuss how EXIM can support small businesses in exporting their Florida-made products around the world.

The Florida Chamber of Commerce is a member of EXIM's Regional Export Promotion Program (REPP), which brings cities, counties, states, and local nonprofit economic development entities together with EXIM in a partnership designed to expand export opportunities. REPP members have local market knowledge and the ability to personally reach companies, serving as vital resources to connect EXIM with businesses that want to reach international markets.

Chairman Kimberly Reed at a roundtable hosted by the Florida Chamber of Commerce

Chairman Reed previously was in Florida in January to speak to the American Association of Port Authorities and meet with over 150 Florida businesses and bankers to discuss EXIM's tools for continued growth of Florida's small business exports and jobs.

ABOUT EXIM:

EXIM is an independent federal agency that promotes and supports American jobs by providing competitive and necessary export credit to support sales of U.S. goods and services to international buyers. A robust EXIM can level the global playing field for U.S. exporters when they compete against foreign companies that receive support from their governments. EXIM also contributes to U.S. economic growth by helping to create and sustain hundreds of thousands of jobs in exporting businesses and their supply chains across the United States. In recent years, approximately 90 percent of the total number of the agency's authorizations has directly supported small businesses. Since 1992, EXIM has generated more than $9 billion for the U.S. Treasury for repayment of U.S. debt.

For more information about EXIM, please visit www.exim.gov.