Press Releases

Today, the Subcommittee on National Security, Illicit Finance, and International Financial Institutions, led by Chairman Warren Davidson (OH-08), hosted the Export-Import (EXIM) Bank of the United States President and Chairman John Jovanovic for a hearing entitled, “Oversight of the Export-Import Bank.”

On Strengthening U.S. Competitiveness:

Subcommittee Chairman Davidson said, “We are eager to work with you to strengthen the Bank and its operations so that American exporters have the support they need to compete against subsidized foreign competition. EXIM puts America first by leveling that playing field. So, I look forward to your testimony and our discussion today on how we can properly position the Bank to achieve that goal through this reauthorization process. ”

Small Business Committee Chairman Roger Williams (TX-25) said, “Recently, there's been an increase in competition from foreign export credit agencies, particularly from countries like China, who are not operating under the same rules or standards as the United States. And China is deploying large scale, state-backed financing to support its exports and secure strategic projects around the world. It is critical, I think we all agree, that the United States remains a leader in this space and ensures our exporters have the tools they need to compete and win globally.”

On Countering China’s Influence:

Task Force on Monetary Policy, Treasury Market Resilience, and Economic Prosperity Chairman Frank Lucas (OK-03) said, “The China and Transformational Exports Program, or CTEP, has made important progress in countering China's export subsidies globally. However, during the last fiscal year, CTEP’s allocation decreased substantially.” To which Mr. Jovanovic replied, “I think the most important piece, Congressman, was to ensure that CTEP was at the heart of everything that we did. And so, I think as I mentioned a moment ago, I actually brought CTEP and its key team and integrated it within all of our origination and business development activities. So, it was absolutely crazy to me to think about a CTEP team operating independently from all of the high-quality individuals who assess and look to bring in our largest transactions. And so, integrating them was important. Thinking about how the ten transformational areas apply to existing initiatives and finally prioritizing opportunities where we can check multiple boxes and ensure that supply chain security, by the way, energy security, all these points really touch on CTEP.”

Rep. Zach Nunn (IA-03) said, “[China has] been the world's largest creditor since 2017. Its Belt and Road Initiatives deploy cheap predatory infrastructure financing to buy global influence, undercut competitors, including the United States and our allies, and trap developing nations in debt. More than two dozen countries now owe over 10% of their GDP to Chinese state lenders. Pakistan $77 billion. Sri Lanka $11 billion. Kenya $9 billion. This is not developmental finance. This is debt trap diplomacy.”

On Promoting U.S. Energy Security:

Subcommittee on Financial Institutions Chairman Andy Barr (KY-06) said, “I've long argued that the world needs an all of the above energy approach to promote energy security. That means ensuring that advanced U.S. coal power technologies can compete abroad, along with American sourced fuel. We’ve seen in the past previous administrations and previous leadership at EXIM discriminate against coal technology or even just coal exports.”

The Witness Echoed the Work of the Committee:

Export-Import Bank President and Chairman Jovanovic said, “For the first time in ten years, EXIM is projected to fully repay its appropriation. Even further, EXIM is on track to authorize more transactions and support more U.S. jobs than in any year in its 92-year history. Our current pipeline includes more than $71 billion in active transactions spanning critical minerals, civil nuclear energy, and advanced manufacturing. These projects alone are expected to support more than 45,000 American jobs.” 

###