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Services exports comprise one-third of U.S. total exports. With America becoming more of a services-oriented economy, this sector is becoming an important source of value-added growth and job creation.

EXIM provides support for U.S. companies selling services internationally when commercial lending is unavailable. Support for services includes such industries as engineering and consulting, information technology and telecommunications, and services related to mining and a variety of other service-based activities.

EXIM can finance services in conjunction with sales of U.S.-made products (such as equipment) in addition to free-standing services such as architectural, testing and engineering services.

Reducing Risks and Unleashing Opportunities

EXIM's export credit insurance provides your business with the confidence necessary to enter new markets, gain new customers and boost sales. This simple tool has significant benefits:

  • Limits your nonpayment risk for many commercial and political reasons. It covers up to 95 percent of your sales invoice. You can protect export sales to a single buyer or multiple buyers.
  • Allows you to extend credit to your qualified foreign buyers. It can improve the cash flow of your customers by replacing methods such as cash-in-advance and letters of credit.
  • Provides you with access to financing. EXIM's insurance also enhances the quality of your firm's balance sheet. Your foreign receivables become insured by the U.S. government, allowing your company to borrow against these receivables.

Policy Options

EXIM offers support for services performed by U.S.-based personnel, invoiced to and paid by a foreign entity. These are several short-term insurance policies:

  • Express insurance is best for SBA-defined small businesses with less than or equal to $10,000,000 in export credit sales and less than 10 foreign customers.
  • Small business multi-buyer insurance is for SBA-defined small businesses with less than or equal to $10 million in export credit sales and provides coverage an unlimited number of foreign customers.
  • Standard multi-buyer insurance is best for firms with experience in international markets and provides coverage for all of its foreign customers. This tool also provides firms with more flexibility to make credit decisions without prior approval from EXIM.
  • Single-buyer policies allow firms to insure single or multiple shipments to just one customer.

U.S. Content Requirements

Small businesses must have more than 50 percent U.S. content based on direct and indirect costs for either:

  • Each service listed on a separate invoice, showing all items with more than 50 percent U.S. content; or
  • One invoice that shows the aggregate content of all services are more than 50 percent with an accompanying content report. Otherwise, only the U.S. content is eligible for coverage.

Non-Small Businesses must have:

  • More than 50 percent U.S. content based on direct costs for each service listed in a single invoice.

Note: EXIM can provide support for recurring royalty fees and overseas franchise fees on a case-by-case basis.

Eligibility

To be eligible for EXIM support:

  • There must be a contract or purchase order;
  • The service providers must be legal U.S. workers (as evidenced by an I-9);
  • The U.S. entity must own any foreign-developed licenses for at least a year;
  • Insurance policy services endorsements must exclude contract cancellation/frustration risks; and
  • In the event that a buyer has defaulted for more than 90 days and/or a buyer has terminated the contract, the exporter must discontinue services. 
     

Success Story

DC Company Provides Interactive Ordering for Consumers Worldwide

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Radius Networks, Inc. is a small, Washington, DC, technology company that helps consumers around the world spend less time waiting in lines to place their orders. The company provides "mobile proximity" solutions to customers across the globe. Radius Networks' solutions such as interactive kiosks and customer location technologies that enhance the customer's fast food experience, have been embraced by some of the world's largest multinational companies. Landing a contract with a company the size and scope of McDonald's is an awesome opportunity for any business.

EXPORT CHALLENGE 

McDonald's global is not one monolithic company but rather an enterprise of thousands of individual corporate partners across 119 countries that Radius Networks must sell to directly. Doing business with large multi- national organizations may be every small business owner's dream, but it comes with a price. If an overseas buyer does not pay the bill, small companies have very limited recourse to recover the funds, unless those bills are covered by export credit insurance.

EXIM SOLUTION 

Working with EXIM and insurance broker Global Insurance Services, Radius Networks navigates this overwhelming landscape and delivers the highest quality solutions to the world's largest fast food chain. EXIM's Export Credit Insurance protects Radius Networks against nonpayment by international buyers (covering up to 95 percent of the sales invoice). But the real value to the company is that export credit insurance gives the small business the ability to respond to a huge worldwide opportunity. This 40-person company is empowered to compete for large contracts that require global fulfillment.

RESULTS 

In only two years, EXIM has supported more than $10 million of Radius Networks' export sales.