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Jeffrey L. Miller, senior vice president for export finance of the Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank) told a conference of lenders and exporters in Miami, Fla., today that, despite the difficult economic times facing parts of Latin America, Ex-Im Bank will remain committed to keeping trade flowing between the United States and the region.

At Ex-Im Bank, it's our job to finance exports, whether in difficult times or difficult markets, Miller said in his keynote address to the fifth annual Structured Trade and Export Finance in the Americas Conference. We are the first ones into difficult markets and the last ones to leave. Export credit agencies such as Ex-Im Bank have consistently played a critical role in filling the financing gaps to emerging markets.

Noting that Ex-Im Bank has been a strategic partner of Latin America since the agency was founded nearly 70 years ago, Miller added: Ex-Im Bank's financing products are tailored to meet almost any market conditions - and, clearly, market conditions in Latin America today remain volatile and uncertain.

Ex-Im Bank authorized more than $3 billion in financing to support U.S. exports to Latin America and the Caribbean last year, including approximately $1.6 billion for Mexico and $788 million for the Dominican Republic. In addition, the U.S. government's Trade Promotion Coordinating Committee, of which Ex-Im Bank is a member, has identified Mexico and Brazil as two of six markets where U.S. government trade agencies will strive for greater coordination in promoting U.S. exports.

Ex-Im Bank is an independent U.S. government agency that helps finance the sale of U.S. exports, primarily to emerging markets throughout the world, by providing guarantees, insurance, and loans. In fiscal year 2002, Ex-Im Bank supported nearly $13 billion of U.S. exports worldwide.