News

WASHINGTON - Underscoring the Export-Import Bank of the United States' (EXIM) announcement on Monday, December 7, 2020, in the Federal Register, the EXIM Board of Directors will hold an open meeting, via teleconference, on Thursday, December 17, 2020, at 9:30 a.m. ET to consider changes to its content policy specific to the ten sectors identified EXIM's new "Program on China and Transformational Exports."

Members of the public who wish to attend the meeting, via audio only teleconference, should register online HERE by close of business Wednesday, December 16, 2020. Individuals will then be directed to a webinar registration page and provided call-in information.

EXIM's historic seven-year bipartisan reauthorization (Pub. L. 116-94), signed into law December 20, 2019, directed EXIM to establish a new "Program on China and Transformational Exports" (China Program) (Sec. 402).

Last month, as part of an open and transparent process, EXIM published in the Federal Register a notice for public review and comment that the agency-in implementation of the Congressional directive to establish the China Program-is considering changes to its content policy with respect to the new Congressional mandate.

EXIM's China Program's purpose is "to support the extension of loans, guarantees, and insurance, at rates and on terms and other conditions, to the extent practicable, that are fully competitive with rates, terms, and other conditions established by the People's Republic of China (PRC)." The law charges EXIM with a goal of reserving not less than 20 percent of the agency's total financing authority (i.e., $27 billion out of a total of $135 billion) for support made pursuant to the China Program.

The Congressional reauthorization established a dual aim for EXIM China Program: (1.) to directly neutralize export subsidies for competing goods and services financed by official export credit, tied aid, or blended financings provided by the PRC; and (2.) to advance the comparative leadership of the United States with respect to the PRC, or support U.S. innovation, employment, and technological standards, through direct exports in ten transformational export sectors, specifically:

• Artificial intelligence.
• Biotechnology.
• Biomedical sciences.
• Wireless communications equipment (including 5G or subsequent wireless technologies).
• Quantum computing.
• Renewable energy, energy efficiency, and energy storage.
• Semiconductor and semiconductor machinery manufacturing.
• Emerging financial technologies (including technologies that facilitate financial inclusion through increased access to capital and financial services; data security and privacy; payments, the transfer of funds, and associated messaging services; and efforts to combat money laundering and the financing of terrorism).
• Water treatment and sanitation (including technologies and infrastructure to reduce contaminants and improve water quality).
• High-performance computing.

Between May and August 2020, EXIM hosted its "Strengthening American Competitiveness" initiative, a highly productive and informative series of engagements with over 1,100 exporters and stakeholders in sectors key to long-term U.S. prosperity and security. The insights and feedback from the Initiative are playing a crucial role in ensuring EXIM's Program on China and Transformational Exports is best positioned to deliver on EXIM's mission to support American jobs by facilitating U.S. exports.

In addition, the EXIM Advisory Committee held its quarterly meeting December 2, 2020, voting to send a letter encouraging the EXIM Board of Directors to modernize EXIM's content policy for transformational exports. Prior to that, the EXIM Advisory Committee Subcommittee on Strategic Competition with the People's Republic of China (PRC) met November 23, 2020, to make recommendations to EXIM's Advisory Committee in support of EXIM modernizing its content policy.

The text of EXIM-related Congressional reauthorization provisions (P.L. 116-94 - Division I, Title IV - Export-Import Bank Extension), including the Program on China and Transformational Exports (Section 402), has been codified and incorporated into EXIM's Charter and is available here.

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.