By Emmanuel Oluebube
Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) President and Chairman Kimberly A. Reed has appeared on a pre-recorded panel, moderated by Managing Director and Co-Founder of TXF Dan Sheriff, along with four other Export Credit Agency (ECA) heads to discuss the global export market. The panel was aired to more than 1,600 registrants as part of TXF’s annual conference “TXF Global 2020: Export, Agency & Project Finance.”
Also joining the panel were:
Kirstine Damkjaer – CEO, EKF, Denmark
Francois Lefebvre – General Manager, Bpifrance, France
Mairead Lavery – President and CEO, EDC, Canada
Fernando Salazar – Chairman and CEO, CESCE, Spain
Chairman Reed underscored EXIM’s commitment to supporting US businesses as they face challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic. She also discussed EXIM’s new Programme on China and Transformational Exports, established in EXIM’s historic 7-year reauthorization, which is intended to help level the playing field for US exporters and workers by directly neutralizing export subsidies for competing goods and services offered by the People’s Republic of China.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has drastically affected the global export market, and I appreciate the discussion with my counterparts around the world on measures to ensure liquidity relief for our customers during this challenging time,” said Chairman Reed. “I am committed to working to ensure a level playing field for American exporters, while also seeking to gradually reduce the global reliance on export credit agencies.”
EXIM was one of the first ECAs to implement emergency measures in response to COVID-19. EXIM’s temporary COVID-19 relief measures include waivers, deadline extensions, streamlined processing, and flexibility for its working capital loan guarantee and export credit insurance programmes. EXIM’s Board of Directors also unanimously adopted a resolution affirming support of additional temporary relief measures including bridge financing, progress delivery payment financing, supply chain finance guarantees, and working capital guarantee expansions.
