The Export-Import Bank expired on June 30, over 100 days ago. This was a major policy victory for conservatives who are looking to roll back corporate welfare and stop Washington from picking winners and losers in the economy.
However, as Ronald Reagan once said, “the nearest thing to eternal life we will ever see on this earth is a government program.” The Export-Import Bank’s supporters are trying to resurrect this now defunct government agency.
As Washington continues to play politics with the 81-year-old bank, here are 10 facts you should remember about Ex-Im:
1. Boeing, General Electric, and Caterpillar received 87 percent of all Ex-Im loan guarantees in fiscal year 2013.
2. Ex-Im provided export financing for just 0.009 percent of America’s small businesses.
3. The vast majority of exporters—98 percent—never received assistance from the Ex-Im Bank.
4. Export financing didn’t create new jobs, but merely redistributed jobs across America’s economy.
5. Among the top 10 buyers of Ex-Im exports, five were state controlled and raked in millions of dollars from their own governments in addition to Ex-Im subsidies.
6. There are 31 open corruption and fraud investigations into the bank.
7. The top beneficiaries of Ex-Im also had massive backlogs of orders, meaning jobs were not immediately lost when Congress allowed the bank’s charter to expire.
8. Ex-Im subsidies benefited China, Venezuela, Cuba, and Russia. State-owned foreign airlines have received $16 billion in subsidized financing since 2009.
9. Taxpayers were on the hook for nearly $140 billion in the Ex-Im loan portfolio.
10. The companies advocating reauthorization of Ex-Im have admitted they don’t actually need it.
Let’s not let the Export-Import Bank come back from the dead.
Originally published at Heritage Action.
