The U.S. Senate recently took steps to help American corporations — including many in Clark County — compete in the global marketplace. But more needs to be done.
Senators returned the Export-Import Bank to full operations, providing a boost for corporations that rely on international trade. But they still must renew the bank’s charter by the end of September to ensure that it can continue the important services it has provided since its formation in 1934.
The Ex-Im Bank is a federal agency that subsidizes foreign purchases of American goods. It provides guaranteed loans to foreign buyers to purchase goods from a vast roster of companies, and it routinely turns a profit for the U.S. Treasury thanks to the repayment of those loans.
In recent years, however, the bank has been a political lightning rod. It has drawn the ire of Tea Party Republicans and libertarians who claim that the bank’s functions amount to political cronyism by boosting the profits of large corporations. Critics have derided it as “The Bank of Boeing” due to the company’s frequent use of the lending program.
Conservatives have tried in recent years to abolish the bank; they allowed its authorization to lapse for a time in 2015, and then greatly reduced its funding.
Most recently, the bank’s board has been understaffed, preventing a quorum and limiting the size of loans that could be approved. All of this is a bit of D.C. insider stuff, but it is important to our Washington, the nation’s most trade-dependent state. Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., notes that the number of jobs in the state supported by the bank plummeted from 39,000 in fiscal 2014 to 650 in fiscal 2018.
Now, however, senators have confirmed three new board members, restoring a quorum and allowing the bank to resume making loans of more than $10 million. Cantwell has long been a supporter of the bank and last week said: “Confirming these nominees ensures the Export-Import Bank is once again fully operational. It is critical for jobs and for our economy, not just in my home state of Washington, but throughout the United States.”
And yet the bank remains a lightning rod. The axiom about politics making strange bedfellows is evident in the fact that Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont and a Democratic presidential candidate, voted with more than a dozen Republican senators in opposing the nominees to the board.
Criticism of the bank, however, is shortsighted. While it does, indeed, provide loans that benefit large corporations, it also provides assistance for small businesses. In the past five years, it has helped 128 Washington businesses export $31 billion worth of products. Vancouver companies such as Conquest Consulting Group, Korab USA and Neil Jones Food Company have benefited, as has Woodland’s Lamiglas Inc. According to Ex-Im Bank numbers, those exports have been worth more than $14 million.
In addition, American corporations face challenges from foreign competitors who receive assistance through their own nations’ export banks. Providing loan assistance that eventually returns a profit for the United States government helps U.S. companies remain competitive.
International trade has turned into a contentious issue under the Trump administration, fueled by the president’s policy of tariffs and his assertion that trade wars are easy to win. While tariffs undermine American corporations, the Export-Import Bank helps make those companies viable on the world stage. Congress should provide the bank with a long-term reauthorization.
