Editorial by:
Chris Holman
Founder and CEO
Michigan Business Network
Last week, Congress adjourned for their August recess without reauthorizing EXIM.
EXIM is the Export-Import Bank of the United States, an independent federal agency that fills gaps in private export finance in order to bolster U.S. job growth at no cost to the American taxpayers (source: https://www.exim.gov/what-we-do).
Though the lapse in EXIM Bank’s authority doesn’t seem like a Michigan issue, it’s impacting our local economy in two ways:
- Limits access to trade finance solutions: Most traditional lenders don’t want to venture into the international space due to a myriad of complicated issues, such as ever changing monetary exchange rates, settling disputes in foreign courts and a myriad of other challenges.
- Inhibits business planning, forecasting and growth: Our lawmakers keep extending the bank’s funding for only short periods at a time, preventing any businesses who use it from doing any planning.
If you get an opportunity, tell your U.S. Representative or Senator to get this bank funded. It helps our businesses and actually returns a profit to the Treasury Department every year. No brainer.
