GOP Sen. Pat Toomey Questions Biden's Ex-Im Bank Expansion

For nearly 90 years, the Export-Import Bank has subsidized foreign purchases of goods produced by politically connected American businesses

• Now it will start loaning money to U.S. companies that do little or no business overseas.
• In April, the Ex-Im Bank's board of directors voted unanimously to launch a new "Make More in America" initiative aimed at subsidizing American manufacturers instead of their foreign customers.

The Ex-Im Bank has failed to boost exports

• There is little evidence that the bank has actually boosted American exports.
• From 2014 to 2018, the bank was effectively shut down when conservatives in Congress temporarily suspended its lending authority, but American exports nevertheless grew from $2.3 trillion to a then-record $ 2.5 trillion during that period.
• President Joe Biden plans to expand its mandate.
  1. The Ex-Im Bank's low-interest loans to overseas buyers of American goods have long benefited companies like Boeing, which can undercut foreign competition with the U.S. government's help.
  2. In April, the Ex-Im Bank's board of directors voted unanimously to launch a new "Make More in America" initiative aimed at subsidizing American manufacturers instead of their foreign customers.
  3. Rather than unwinding and abolishing the Ex-Im Bank, as some fiscal conservatives have been trying to do for years, this new program is likely to further entrench the bank's role in federal industrial policy.
  4. For nearly 90 years, the Export-Import Bank of the United States has subsidized foreign purchases of goods produced by politically connected American businesses.
  5. Toomey submitted a series of questions to Ex-Im Bank President Reta Jo Lewis about the new program.
  6. Biden Expands Dubious Subsidies for Manufacturers The Export-Import Bank enjoys bipartisan support, even though there is little evidence that it's effective.

   

https://reason.com/2022/07/25/biden-expands-dubious-subsidies-for-manufacturers/