EXIM Bank's Key Priorities: U.S. Small Businesses and Exporters

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EXIM equips American exporters with the financing tools necessary to compete for global sales. Whether you need protection from commercial or political risks, access to cash flow, or help with credit terms, EXIM has you covered.

Are you ready to begin your export journey?  Then explore EXIM's offerings.

Let's Make Sure Watchdogs Do Their Jobs

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Timing is everything.

Parisa Salehi, Export-Import Bank's Inspector General, was the kind of internal watchdog who had earned a strong reputation for digging up fraud, waste and abuse during her 15 years in government service. She had risen through the ranks at inspectors general offices at the State Department and U.S.A.I.D., eventually taking over internal investigations at the Export-Import Bank of the United States, where her office reported saving tens of millions of dollars.

But last week, she got a notice that President Trump had fired her, effective immediately. The reason she was given? A vague line about the administration’s changing priorities, according to two people familiar with the matter.

There's more.

Cheers! Happy National Small Business Month!

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It's time to celebrate National Small Business Month.  May is a month to applaud and recognize the contributions of small businesses to the economy. And right now, they (myself included) are experiencing a tough time due to our current economic environment.  Yet, because we are hard working, fierce, resilient and brave, we are the backbone of our economy.

Despite having a challenging time to find something uplifting to report out on relative to small businesses, I thought this post by the Export-Import Bank of the United States is perfect.  It talks about beer (that's where the cheers come in) and how craft brewers can go global with government support.  Yes, you read that right.

Check it out here.  Cheer's to all of us – global small businesses – for navigating extremely turbulent waters right now.  There is no other choice than to come up with creative solutions and keep moving forward.

Export With Confidence, a wegginar® 8/4/21 That Will Turn You Into an Exporting Pro

©2021 Women Entrepreneurs Grow Global.  All rights reserved.

Are you nervous about making the jump into exporting? Worried about getting paid on overseas deals?  Clueless about what resources are available to help you get started in exporting?  We've got you covered!

Women Entrepreneurs Grow Global® and the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) invite you to join their free wegginar®:  Exporting Uncertainty to Confidence: Featuring Hayes Manufacturing.

Here's what to expect: 

• Hear from Penny Challender, President of Hayes Manufacturing, on how they went from hesitant exporter to exporting pro.
• Ensure you get paid on your products and services with Export Credit Insurance (no more sleepless nights!)
• Access Pre-Export Working Capital for Your Goods

Learn more and register (remember, it's FREE thanks to all of of wegg's generous sponsors; refer to graphic).

Rotorcorp Achieves Steady Growth in US Exports

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Global small business Atlanta’s Rotorcorp LLC has seen steady growth in its export profile, with about 60 percent of revenues now coming from international sales.

President Sean Casey has been tapped for a slot on the Industry Trade Advisory Committee for aerospace equipment, a joint group convened by the Commerce Department and the Office of the United States Trade Representative to gain firsthand insight from companies on issues of U.S. competitiveness.

As a steady user of services of the Export-Import Bank of the United States and the Small Business Administration, Mr. Casey has seen the way that advocacy and resources can be skewed toward large companies, sometimes at the expense of the smaller, fragmented players that nonetheless make up the bulk of U.S. employment.

Rotorcorp’s growth markets are almost exclusively abroad, in places like the Philippines and Panama. Retaliatory tariffs haven’t hit the company’s “high-quality, sought after, U.S.-made products.”

Read more about how an Atlanta helicopter parts exporter is bringing a voice of small business to a U.S. trade appointment.

Ex-Im Bank Reduces Risk

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If an American small business can’t find some way to cover financial risks (e.g., getting paid), typically they won’t bid on the projects, and the buyer will purchase their goods from another nation. Sad but true.  Although that's where Ex-Im Bank comes in handy.

“We reduce the risks,” [Fred] Hochberg [president and chairman of the Export-Import Bank of the United States] told a packed room of Inland business leaders Monday [10/24/16]. “If you sell goods abroad you have to think about the financial risks.”

Ex-Im Bank was responsible for more than 52,000 American jobs in 2015.

Read more:  Ex-Im chair touts global trade to Inland leaders

Listen In: Illinois Exporters Say It's a Struggle With No Export-Import Bank

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WBEZ morning shift on August 31, 2015 interviews Richard Paullin, Executive Director, International Trade Association of Greater Chicago on the impact for Chicago business owners concerning the lapse in the reauthorization of the Export-Import Bank of the United States.

IL exporters say it's a struggle with no Export-Import Bank

Meanwhile, our Global Small Business Forum 2015 (registration OPEN) held in Chicago at Navy Pier on Friday, October 23rd, will help small business owners boost their exports and gather alternative methods for financing their sales.  Richard Paullin will be participating in the event.

Expanding Export Opportunity for All American Businesses

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Omaha, Nebraska, home of Warren Buffett's residence and Berkshire Hathaway, Inc., is starting to feel the pinch on the future of Export-Import (Ex-Im) Bank of the United States.  Congress last week refused to renew the U.S. Export-Import Bank’s charter.

Thus far, the following top five Nebraska companies have received financing from Ex-Im:

1. Warren Distribution, Omaha: $13.6 million
2. Preferred Popcorn, Chapman: $13.3 million
3. T-L Irrigation, Hastings: $5 million
4. Green Plains Trade Group, Omaha: $3.7 million
5. Oxbow Enterprises, Murdock: $3.5 million

Source:  Export-Import Bank of the United States, as of July 6, 2015.

Rumor has it that lawmakers could reinstate the bank’s charter this month, but until then, companies like the ones shown above will have to go elsewhere for financing because they can't gain access to new Ex-Im funding.

How Ex-Im works:  For U.S. companies looking to expand abroad, sometimes banks deem certain countries too risky and won’t lend for an expansion. Private insurers also might require a minimum insurance premium, making it too expensive to insure shipments for smaller companies. That’s where Ex-Im has stepped in.

Read more:  Area companies anxiously watch future of Export-Import Bank

Related posts.

How to Lower the Credit Risks to Exporting

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Congress extended the Export-Import Bank's charter through the middle of 2015 as part of a compromise between supporters of the agency and those who want to eliminate it. Generally, the reauthorization period is extended for multiple years at a time.

Many small business owners rely on the credit agency to lower the risks of exporting.

Find out how some business owners are dealing with the uncertainty on Export-Import Bank's assistance, or eventual lack thereof, by reading:  Exporters Fear Credit Crunch

Growing Global to Survive

Strong Commitment to Small Business Owners: President Obama Signs Export-Import Bank Reauthorization Act into Law

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President Obama signed the Export-Import Bank Reauthorization Act of 2012 into law on May 30, 2012. Ex-Im Bank Chairman Fred P. Hochberg joined the President at the White House for the signing ceremony.

The Export-Import Bank Reauthorization Act of 2012 extends the Bank's authority through 2014 and ultimately increases its portfolio cap to $140 billion. This provides much-needed certainty and predictability to U.S. exporters and their workers.

Learn more here.

Related post: Ex-Im's Hochberg Pledges $1 Billion Support for Executive Jets - Businessweek + Global Small Business Blog archives here.

Hat tip to Jim Greene (retired) for letting us know.

Let the Good Times Roll; Let the Small Businesses Go Global

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More on how small businesses are going global.

Just the facts:

Facilitating small-business exports of goods and services is a top priority for the Small Business Administration and Export-Import Bank of the United States, which are following Obama administration goals to double exports by 2014.

The U.S. exported a total of $178 billion in goods and services in July -- an all-time high, according to data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis as cited by the Export-Import Bank.

In the Jobs Act signed into law in September 2010, President Barack Obama allowed for the SBA to increase its ability to provide export-related financing by raising SBA 7(a) loan limits to $5 million from $2 million on export-related loans.

The law made the SBA Export Express loan permanent, with a 90% guarantee for loans up to $350,000 and 75% for loans between $350,000 and $500,000, according to the SBA. It also provides three-year state grants of up to $90 million to help small-businesses owners grow the exporting side of their businesses.

In early August, the Export-Import Bank said it had hit a record $24.5 billion for export-related loan authorizations. The bank's financing supports more than $31.5 billion of export sales and 213,000 U.S. jobs, including 2,548 small-business export jobs.

Read more here.

Export-Import Bank Awards Small-Business Exporter of the Year 2011

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According to Export-Import Bank of the United States, the small-business Exporter of the Year 2011 award winner is: Wayne, Pennsylvania-based Wallquest Inc.

Wallquest Inc., a family-owned firm based in Wayne, Pa., sells wallpaper in more than 50 foreign markets, including China, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Brazil, Russia and the United Arab Emirates. Last year, the company’s exports rose 76% to over $17 million. The company’s growth since 2008 has been driven by the export market, according to Wallquest Vice President Jack Collins.

Learn more here.  Press release here.

Congratulations to Wallquest.  May their exports keep growing!

Can We Double U.S. Exports Over the Next Five Years?

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Some folks don't think so.

The administration’s National Export Initiative calls for a 20 percent increase in next year’s budget for the Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration, bringing it to $534 million. This would enable ITA to hire up to 328 trade experts to help U.S. companies find customers in foreign countries, with a particular focus on high-growth markets like China, India and Brazil.

The ITA aims to help 23,000 businesses to start exporting or grow their international sales next year. Over the next five years, the agency is shooting for a 50 percent increase in the number of small- and medium-size businesses that export to more than one market.

The administration also wants the Export-Import Bank to increase the financing it makes available to small- and medium-size businesses from a record $4.4 billion last year to $6 billion next year.

Ex-Im Bank is an independent federal agency that provides loan guarantees, export-credit insurance and direct loans to finance sales of U.S. exports.

Read more here.

Get Ready Global Small Businesses: U.S. $6 Billion is Coming Your Way in Export Financing

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As reported by our friends and colleagues over at The New Entrepreneur, BusinessWeek, Commerce Secretary Gary Locke pledged $6 billion a year in export financing for U.S.A. small businesses through the Export-Import Bank of the United States.

Read all about it here:

Locke Pledges Aid for U.S. Small Business Exports (Update 1)

All we can say?

U.S.A., Export Away!

Export-Import Bank of the United States

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If you have never explored the Export-Import Bank's site, kick back, relax and do it now. They have everything from conference news (click on What's New) to small business export financing help to key market guides. It's worth a visit.