The California Chamber of Commerce this week asked the state’s representatives in Congress to support reauthorizing the U.S. Export-Import Bank, which expired on June 30.
Ex-Im has a proven record of success, and turns a profit for the American taxpayer. Since 1990, Ex-Im has refunded $7 billion to the U.S. Treasury above all costs and loss reserves, including $674.7 billion in the 2014 fiscal year alone.
Economic Impact
The potential impact of a lack of financing for exports for both small and large businesses will damage the economic recovery of both California and the United States. Over the last five years, Ex-Im assisted 800 businesses from California, the vast majority of which were small businesses.
In fact, small businesses account for approximately 89% of Ex-Im’s transactions. These small business transaction figures are in addition to the tens of thousands of small and medium-sized businesses that supply goods and services to large exporters. In the 2014 fiscal year, Ex-Im provided more than $5 billion in financing and insurance for U.S. small businesses.
California is one of the top 10 economies in the world with a gross state product exceeding $2 trillion; the state exports to more than 225 foreign markets. Trade offers the opportunity to expand the role of California’s exports.
Failure to reauthorize the Ex-Im Bank would put at risk the more than 150,000 U.S. jobs at 3,000 companies that depend on Ex-Im to compete in global markets.
Action Needed
The CalChamber is strongly urging the California congressional delegation to consider legislation to reauthorize the Export-Import Bank of the United States as expeditiously as possible.
The CalChamber also is asking that businesses send a letter to their congressional representatives via our grassroots system at www.calchambervotes.com.
