NEW JERSEY EXPORTERS CAN GAIN COMPETITIVE EDGE INCREASE GLOBAL SALES
TRENTON - New Jersey exporters will be more competitive, reach new markets, and increase their international sales with the help of a new City/State partnership launched by the Export Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank) and the State of New Jersey Department of Commerce.
As an Ex-Im Bank City/State partner, the New Jersey Department of Commerce will market Ex-Im Bank's programs to local businesses and commercial banks, teach seminars, counsel exporters and banks, and package transactions. All Ex-Im Bank resources are available through its City/State partners, including two programs found particularly useful by smaller exporters: 1) the Working Capital Guarantee Program which provides guarantees of working capital loans to finance companies' export-related and pre-export activity, and 2) the Export Credit Insurance Program that insures companies against payment default by foreign customers. Ex-Im Bank also provides medium-term credits and guarantees.
Ex-Im bank wants to help more small businesses in New Jersey benefit from the opportunities in today's global market,said Ex-Im Bank Director Dan Renberg, who announced the program in Trenton with Governor Christine Whitman and New Jersey Secretary of Commerce Gualberto Medina. With exports now accounting for 30 percent of small business growth nationally, this City/State partnership will help New Jersey businesses access new markets and reach new customers overseas.
In New Jersey, the Export-Import Bank has supported 119 communities, 201 companies and financed a total of $2.2 billion in exports during the last five years. Ex-Im Bank financing has sustained an estimated 32,150 jobs and contributed to the success of many local companies in the communities listed below. Nationally, Ex-Im Bank financed nearly $17 billion in U.S.-produced exports in fiscal year 1999. Over 80 percent of transactions approved by Ex-Im Bank benefit small businesses.
Ex-Im Bank is a U.S. government agency offering export credit insurance, working capital loan guarantees, loan guarantees, and direct loans to finance the export of U.S. goods and services to developing markets. Ex-Im Bank's products remove the financial risks of exporting — risks that can make it harder for many exporters to successfully compete in foreign markets. With Ex-Im Bank's backing, U.S. exporters can secure affordable financing from private sector lenders and offer their overseas buyers payment terms comparable to their foreign competitors' offers.