Testifying before the Senate Banking Committee today, Kimberly Reed — the Trump administration’s nominee to serve as president of the U.S. Export-Import Bank — said she would take “responsible steps to get Ex-Im operational so America can compete on a more level playing field.” Specifically, Reed said that she would launch a review to “ensure that Ex-Im truly is the ‘bank of last resort’”; work with Congress and the administration on respond aggressively to current Chinese trade policies; work with global organizations to eliminate financing for export credit agencies; and ensure the equitable treatment of all American companies.
“Ex-Im has more than $40 billion in pending applications supporting 250,000 U.S. jobs. We need to keep and support those jobs in the United States while we, at the same time, work to reform the export subsidies of our competitors to save even more. We can do both.”
BAFT — the American Bankers Association’s global transaction banking subsidiary — called on lawmakers to quickly confirm Reed and advance the remaining slate of Ex-Im Bank board members to re-establish a quorum. “As Congress makes progress to ensure greater economic growth and to improve the competitiveness of the U.S. business community, corresponding steps to facilitate access to trade finance would have a marked positive impact,” BAFT noted in a statement submitted for the record.
