Ex-Im Bank Revises Economic Impact Procedures

ByJohn S. McClenahen As expected, the U.S. Export-Import Bank, the official export credit agency of the U.S. government, is changing the ways it tries to determine whether a bank-supported export sale's benefit to U.S. industry and jobs outweighs potential injury to other U.S. producers. Under new criteria, which were put in place on Sept. 17, Ex-Im Bank will examine transactions of capital equipment capable of making exportable products in which more than $10 million in Ex-Im Bank financing is involved and in which the foreign buyer's production poses "substantial" injury to U.S. manufacturers. The threshold for possible injury is 1% of U.S. production. The new procedures also allow for U.S. manufacturers and labor unions to communicate their views on a prospective Ex-Im Bank-supported sale.