Congress fails to renew Export-Import Bank’s charter

The Export-Import Bank charter expires on Tuesday for the first time since it was created to help United States businesses during depression to export their products.

The bank on which several local companies were dependant has to face the situation as congress failed to renew the bank's charter because of opposition from Republicans who say it amounts to corporate welfare.

The federal Export-Import Bank's principal role is to guarantee commercial bank loans made to foreign businesses to buy US products. The bank also makes direct loans and provides export credit insurance to protect against losses to companies from non-repayment of loans.

According to the bank in previous year t authorized $20 billion worth of transactions which supported $27.5 billion of US exports and 164,000 US jobs.

Opponents, including conservative lawmakers, groups like the Heritage Foundation and the GOP's presidential candidates, say that the bank is now not at all needed. They pointed out the majority of US exporting is conducted without government support.

They even argue that the Export-Import Bank primarily supports big businesses that don't really need the help, such as Boeing and GE.

GOP Rep. Jeb Hensarling of Texas, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee and a leading opponent of the bank asked, “Where is the fairness in giving Washington politicians and bureaucrats the power to pick who gets helped and who gets hurt?”.

Supporters like the US Chamber of Commerce and National Association of Manufacturers said that the Export-Import Bank plays a critical role in stepping in where commercial lenders can't.