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WASHINGTON - Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) President and Chairman Kimberly A. Reed yesterday addressed 250 participants in a Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) virtual event for CFR members and invited members of the media.

The discussion, entitled "A Conversation With Kimberly Reed," was moderated by Joyce Chang, Global Head of Research for J.P. Morgan and a CFR member.

"This was an important day for the Export-Import Bank of the United States, and, as a proud member of the Council on Foreign Relations, I cannot think of a better way to announce a significant new EXIM policy focused on U.S. competitiveness than to do so with my fellow CFR members. I thank the Council for hosting and Joyce Chang for presiding over this timely discussion," said EXIM Chairman Reed. "As the first woman Chairman in EXIM's 86-year history, it has been an honor to lead the agency to new heights at such a pivotal time for American companies in the face of global competition, including by fully reopening the agency after four years of dormancy and securing the longest-ever Congressional reauthorization, which included a significant new mandate to advance America's comparative leadership with respect to the People's Republic of China."

During the wide-ranging discussion, Chairman Reed reflected on her time as a nominee to lead EXIM; her bipartisan confirmation and subsequent swearing-in, which effectively reopened EXIM after four years of closure; efforts to reform and reauthorize the agency; educational outreach to inform more U.S. exporters that EXIM is open and can help them grow; the response to the COVID-19 pandemic; and new policies and reforms, such as the establishment of a Program on China and Transformational Exports (China Program) directed in EXIM's historic seven-year reauthorization, legislation that was separately revisited yesterday in an op-ed by Chairman Reed and U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (ND) published by TheHill.com.

Chairman Reed and Joyce Chang during the Council on Foreign Relations event.

Chairman Reed also briefed CFR members on new steps EXIM took earlier that morning as part of its China Program to support U.S. companies in the face of competition with the People's Republic of China. Specifically, the EXIM Board unanimously voted to establish a narrowly-tailored content policy specific to the agency's new Program on China and Transformational Exports (China Program). Under the targeted content policy, projects or procurements involving the Congressionally-mandated 10 transformational export sectors will qualify for EXIM financing if the proposed transaction meets a 51 percent U.S. content threshold, at which point EXIM may support up to 85 percent of the value of all eligible goods and services in the U.S. export contract. A wide range of stakeholders and U.S. exporters expressed support for this change, including those that face strong competition from the People's Republic of China.

Chairman Reed worked closely on these measures with two EXIM colleagues with current or former CFR affiliations and who also participated in yesterday's event: David Slade, General Counsel, and David Trulio, Counselor to the Chairman and Senior Vice President for the Program on China and Transformational Exports. During the CFR discussion, former EXIM President and Chairman Fred Hochberg (2009-2013) noted that achieving any updates related to the policy was both long discussed and difficult to accomplish.

Chairman Reed dedicated the CFR conversation event to the late Carole Brookins, a mentor and CFR member who also served as Executive Director of the World Bank from 2001-2005 and passed due to COVID-19 in March.

A recording of the session is available online here.

ABOUT EXIM:

EXIM is an independent federal agency that promotes and supports American jobs by providing competitive and necessary export credit to support sales of U.S. goods and services to international buyers. A robust EXIM can level the global playing field for U.S. exporters when they compete against foreign companies that receive support from their governments. EXIM also contributes to U.S. economic growth by helping to create and sustain hundreds of thousands of jobs in exporting businesses and their supply chains across the United States. In recent years, approximately 90 percent of the total number of the agency's authorizations has directly supported small businesses. Since 1992, EXIM has generated more than $9 billion for the U.S. Treasury for repayment of U.S. debt.

For more information about EXIM, please visit www.exim.gov.