Resolution
of
the Wharton Chamber of Commerce and
Agriculture
WHEREAS the Export-Import Bank of the United States was established in
1934 by an Executive Order for the purpose of providing credit guarantees and
other financial services that help foreign customers of U.S. companies secure
financing they need from to buy American products; and
WHEREAS the Export-Import Bank of the United States has facilitated $586
billion in U.S. exports since its inception, supporting nearly $47 billion
worth of exports in 2013; and
WHEREAS the charter of the Export-Import Bank of the United States
provides that the Bank makes available not less than 20 percent of its lending
authority to small businesses, which currently support nearly 290,000 export
related jobs with more than 85 percent of all Bank transactions directly
benefitting small business exporters; and
WHEREAS the Export-Import Bank of the United States has maintained a
very low default rate of 1.5 percent through the recession and several years of
strong growth and pays for itself through the fees it charges to foreign buyers
and returns billions of dollars to the U.S. Treasury ($3.4 billion from 2006 to
2010); and
WHEREAS the Houston metropolitan area exported $110 billion of goods in
2012 and surpassed New York in 2013 as the number one U.S. market for exports
with Texas having the most exporters by far that use the Export-Import Bank of
the United States; and
WHEREAS, the Import-Export Bank of the United States has facilitated
about $3 million in exports from Wharton’s Eco Prime Group, boosting the
Wharton community’s employment and economic activity; and
WHEREAS eliminating the Export-Import Bank of the United States would
not only increase the annual deficit by the amount deposited each year by the
Bank in the U.S. Treasury but would also put thousands of export related jobs
at risk;
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED:
The Wharton Chamber of
Commerce and Agriculture fully endorses and supports the reauthorization of the
Export-Import
Bank of the United States because of the
significant economic impact that exports have on the regional economy and the
nation.
Approved by the Board of Directors and signed on this 28th
Day of May, 2014
Justin Coldeway
Board Chair
