EXIM Director Bachus Addresses 2020 American-Turkish Conference
WASHINGTON - Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) Board Member Spencer Bachus III today addressed the 2020 American-Turkish Conference, underscoring how EXIM supports U.S. businesses and workers as they export their "Made in the USA" goods and services to Turkey and around the world.
The 38th annual conference, hosted by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's U.S.-Turkey Business Council (USTBC) and the Foreign Economic Relations Board of Turkey's Turkey-U.S. Business Council (TAIK), is being held virtually September 21-24, 2020.
"The pandemic has forced the conference to be conducted virtually this year, but I know that this won't stop any of us from celebrating the extensive economic and strategic ties between our two countries, or from working together to grasp the growing opportunities for even more trade and investment between us," said Director Bachus. "The opportunities range from aerospace to construction, energy, health care, and manufacturing."
During his virtual remarks, Director Bachus, who formerly represented Alabama in the U.S. House of Representatives, underscored EXIM's new Program on China and Transformational Exports, which directs EXIM to provide export financing to directly neutralize export subsidies offered by the People's Republic of China, helping ensure a more level playing field for U.S. businesses and workers as they compete globally.
Director Bachus also highlighted the EXIM Board of Directors' July 23, 2020, unanimous vote to provide up to $498 million in financing to support the export of passenger aircraft to Turkish Airlines, supporting an estimated 2,000 jobs across the United States. The proposed financing support is needed due to the current lack of capacity in the commercial banks and capital markets for long-term debt for Turkish Airlines. EXIM financing is also needed to meet competition from foreign, officially sponsored export credit financing from Germany, France, and the United Kingdom.
"American and Turkish businesses will continue to work together, seeking opportunities to expand both our economies and serve the interests of both countries' citizens, utilizing both private lending when it is available and government financing when it is necessary," said Director Bachus. "Both our nations will benefit from trade relations which avoid predatory lending practices and are designed to support our economies and our workers."
ABOUT EXIM:
EXIM is an independent federal agency that promotes and supports American jobs by providing competitive and necessary export credit to support sales of U.S. goods and services to international buyers. 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.