Evaluation Criteria

The exim.gov staff evaluates all suggested links using the following criteria:

  • Is the recommended website an official government-owned or supported website?
  • Does the recommended website provide official government information or services?
  • Does the recommended website complement existing information, products and services on exim.gov?
  • Is the recommended website accessible and applicable to a wide audience?
  • Is the recommended website's content relevant, useful and authoritative?
  • Does the recommended website's information appear to be accurate and current?
  • Is the recommended website's approach to the privacy of personal information consistent with the government's privacy and security policies?
  • Is the recommended website "user-friendly?"
  • Does the recommended website meet one or more of the following "highly desirable" criteria?
    • The website crosses agency or intergovernmental boundaries (e.g., students.gov, fedforms.gov and nutrition.gov);
    • The website enables those involved in international trade (e.g., U.S. exporting companies, lending institutions, or foreign buyers) to obtain information that enhances their ability to transact business
    • The website provides individuals, businesses and/or government officials with the information they need to interact directly with government organizations (e.g., clearly available telephone numbers, street addresses, e-mail addresses and instructions);

Links to Government Websites

Exim.gov can add a link to any government website that is publicly available unless directed not to by the agency that owns the site. Acceptable federal government-owned or government-sponsored website domains include .gov, .mil and .fed.us. Exim.gov also links to: quasi-government agencies and websites created by public sector/private sector partnerships; state and local government sites (e.g., www.maryland.gov); and some government-sponsored websites that end in .com, .org, or .net (e.g., www.usps.com for the U.S. Postal Service). Exim.gov complies with the Office of Management and Budget policy (Policy 3: Establish and Enforce Agency-wide Linking Policies - paragraph F) regarding mandatory links that must be displayed.

Links to Non-Government Websites In rare instances, exim.gov links to websites that are not government-owned or government-sponsored if these websites provide government information and/or services in a way that is not available on an official government website. Exim.gov provides these non-government websites as a public service only. The U.S. government, including the Export-Import Bank of the United States, the owner/operator of exim.gov, neither endorses nor guarantees in any way the external organizations, services, advice, or products included in these website links. Furthermore, the U.S. government neither controls nor guarantees the accuracy, relevance, timeliness or completeness of the information contained in non-government website links.

Reciprocal Links

We link to government information according to our linking policy, whether or not the other website links to us or not. We don't engage in reciprocal linking. We invite any website to link to exim.gov. Exim.gov is the official website of the Export-Import Bank of the United States. It is a public domain website, which means you may link to us at no cost and without special permission. This policy, however, does not extend to the Ex-Im Bank official seal or logos, the use of which requires special permission from the Office of Communications, (202) 565-3200.

Featured Links

Exim.gov highlights links of special interest to wide audiences by temporarily posting them in a position of prominence on the website. Featured links may include: special trade finance events; cross-agency portals that enhance the public's interaction with government; useful research sites; publications of particular use to exim.gov users; and new links.

Checking Active Links

Exim.gov uses automated and manual processes to periodically verify that links to both internal and external pages / websites are still active and appropriate.

Prohibitions

Exim.gov will not link to any website that exhibits hate, bias, or discrimination. Furthermore, exim.gov reserves the right to deny or remove any link that contains misleading information or unsubstantiated claims, or is determined to be in conflict with exim.gov's mission or policies.

Disclaimer of Endorsement

The information posted on the exim.gov website includes hypertext links or pointers to information created and maintained by other public and/or private organizations. exim.gov provides these links and pointers solely for our users' information and convenience. When users select a link to an outside website, they are leaving the exim.gov site and are subject to the privacy and security policies of the owners/sponsors of the outside website.

  • The Export-Import Bank of the United States and exim.gov do not control or guarantee the accuracy, relevance, timeliness or completeness of information contained on a linked website.
  • The Export-Import Bank of the United States and exim.gov do not endorse the organizations sponsoring linked websites, and we do not endorse the views they express or the products/services they offer.
  • The Export-Import Bank of the United States and exim.gov cannot authorize the use of copyrighted materials contained in linked websites. Users must request such authorization from the sponsor of the linked website.
  • The Export-Import Bank of the United States and exim.gov are not responsible for transmissions users receive from linked websites.
  • The Export-Import Bank of the United States and exim.gov do not guarantee that outside websites comply with Section 508 (Accessibility Requirements) of the Rehabilitation Act.

Privacy and Security

Check the exim.gov Privacy and Security Notice for more information about exim.gov Privacy and Security policies.