Republicans’ Ex-Im Shutdown: Stories from Business Owners Out West
By shutting down the Export-Import Bank and unilaterally disarming businesses here at home, House Republicans are giving global competitors a significant advantage and sending jobs overseas. Take a look at what Republicans’ shutdown of the Bank means for U.S. companies in the West and their ability to create jobs here at home and sell their products overseas:
California
“Combustion Associates, Inc., (CAI) is a woman-owned, small manufacturer of power generation systems. CAI has exported U.S. manufactured goods and services to China, South America, Africa and Europe—all successful projects that would not have come to fruition without EXIM financing. CAI has informed the Bank that they are in the final negotiation stages with potential clients in Africa and that their ability to finalize these deals is in jeopardy without the ability to utilize the financial services available through the EXIM Bank. The company’s CEO, Kusum Kavia, recently wrote, ‘Without the Bank’s support, not only does CAI and our local economy and supply chain suffer, but we also suffer the loss of expanding our global footprint and we also lose a lifeline to continue innovation to competing in the global economy.’”
“FirmGreen is a renewable energy technology manufacturer and project developer headquartered in Newport Beach, California. The company first utilized an EXIM Bank [loan] for a landfill gas project outside of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil and now has other renewable projects in the works in countries around the world. Last year, due to uncertainty around the Bank’s reauthorization, FirmGreen lost a new landfill gas deal to a South Korean firm backed by South Korea’s export credit agency. Now, he is trying to persuade the developers of the Philippines' largest-ever solar power plant to not do the same thing his landfill gas customer did and go with a foreign competitor, the world’s largest solar company, China's Trina Solar. Steve Wilburn recently told a reporter that ‘Foreign ECAs (export credit agencies) and their supported manufacturers are champing at the bit to feast on FirmGreen's bones.’”
Idaho
“Hess Pumice Products employs 120 people in remote Idaho, making exactly what their name implies: pumice products. Hess has aggressive competitors in China, but the company’s customers come to them for American quality. The company has grown their exports sales to total approximately 50-60% of their business. Like many EXIM Bank customers, Hess has used its EXIM insurance policy to enhance relationships with customers by being able to offer them time to pay instead of asking for cash-in-advance. With their insurance policy expiring on September 1, 2015, the company faces hard choices. They have been rejected by two private sector insurers so far because their overseas buyers are too small—and most private sector options could eat into their profits. Instead, they may have to return to cash-in-advance, risking customer relationships and certainly putting the company at a competitive disadvantage to their Chinese competitors.”
Nevada
“[Mehul Mehta’s GE Engine Service] plant has 70 employees. Last year, Ex-Im financed more than $720 million in locomotive orders from GE's U.S. factories to railroads in South Africa, Indonesia and Australia. These Ex-Im financed sales help drive GE's continued investment in our North Las Vegas plant, which services the Western U.S. rail network. If exports drop because of a lack of Ex-Im financing, our U.S. customer railroads will see their traffic go down, too. That will mean fewer wheel and traction motors for our plant to rebuild — jeopardizing good manufacturing jobs that our local economy can't afford to lose.’” [Las Vegas Review-Journal, 7/29/15]
Oregon
“Founded in 1978, Bob’s Red Mill is an employee-owned Oregon company that was started by Bob Moore in 1978. Today, Bob’s Red Mill Natural Foods produces a wide range of more than 400 products, a wide range of flours and grain mill products... Since 2012, Bob’s Red Mill has used the EXIM’s export credit insurance product to add 12 new customers, boost export sales 35% and grow to more than 350 employees in the Portland, Oregon area. Due to EXIM Bank’s lapse, major plans to expand into Asian markets are on hold and can’t move forward, halting Bob’s Red Mill’s international growth.”
[Unless otherwise noted, all information comes from the Export-Import Bank]
Click here to read the PDF.