Chairman Reed and State Agriculture Officials from North Dakota, Kentucky, and Indiana Discuss Increasing U.S. Agriculture Exports at National Association of State Departments of Agriculture Winter Policy Conference

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 27, 2020
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Washington, D.C. - President and Chairman of the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) Kimberly A. Reed today participated in a National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA) Winter Policy Conference roundtable discussion with North Dakota Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring, Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner Ryan Quarles, Indiana Agriculture Director Bruce Kettler, and NASDA CEO Dr. Barb Glenn, highlighting how EXIM can help expand export opportunities for the U.S. agriculture industry.

In her remarks, Chairman Reed discussed how EXIM's financial products and services can provide support for businesses of all sizes in the agriculture sector, helping them compete globally through the export of "Made in the USA" goods and services. She also reviewed EXIM's historic seven-year reauthorization, which provides clear direction to focus on economic and national security challenges from China.

"EXIM stands ready to help our U.S. farmers, ranchers, agribusinesses, and supply chains-those who make possible our nation's great food, feed, fuel, fiber, farm-related equipment and technology, and other exports-compete and win in the global marketplace," said Chairman Reed. "Since FY 2015, EXIM has supported approximately $3.5 billion in agriculture exports through short-term insurance, and in FY 2019, 80 percent of the agricultural exports EXIM supported were associated with small businesses. My thanks goes to NASDA and America's great agriculture commissioners for sharing the important role EXIM can serve when it comes to America's agriculture-related export opportunities."

EXIM also reaches agricultural exporters and rural communities through the Regional Export Promotion Program (REPP), a cooperative arrangement between EXIM, cities, counties, states, and local nonprofit economic development entities.

Commissioner Goehring, who currently serves as President of the NASDA Board of Directors, also is a Member of the EXIM Sub-Saharan Africa Advisory Committee (SAAC) and Chair of the SAAC Subcommittee on Transformational Exports to Africa.

Earlier this month at a SAAC meeting, Commissioner Goehring noted that "[w]ith its mission of supporting American jobs by facilitating U.S. exports, EXIM can help increase U.S. engagement in the emerging region of sub-Saharan Africa. By supporting trade and investment in critical areas such as information and communications technology, health care, and agriculture, EXIM can help foster mutually beneficial relationships."

NASDA is a nonpartisan, nonprofit association which represents the elected and appointed commissioners, secretaries, and directors of the departments of agriculture in all fifty states and four U.S. territories.

ABOUT EXIM:

EXIM is an independent federal agency that promotes and supports American jobs by providing competitive and necessary export credit to overseas purchasers of U.S. goods and services. A robust EXIM can level the global playing field for U.S. exporters when they compete against foreign companies that receive support from their governments. EXIM also contributes to U.S. economic growth by helping to create and sustain hundreds of thousands of jobs in exporting businesses and their supply chains across the United States. In recent years, approximately 90 percent of the total number of the agency's authorizations has directly supported small businesses. Since 1992, EXIM has generated more than $9 billion for the U.S. Treasury for repayment of U.S. debt.

For more information about EXIM, please visit www.exim.gov.