Readout from EXIM Chairman Kimberly Reed's Meeting with Iraqi Ambassador to the United States Fareed Yasseen
WASHINGTON - President and Chairman of the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) Kimberly A. Reed met today via teleconference with Iraqi Ambassador to the United States Fareed Yasseen. The Chairman and the Ambassador discussed the economic impact of the COVID-19 global pandemic, as well as future collaboration opportunities to support U.S. exports to Iraq.
During the meeting, Chairman Reed and Ambassador Yasseen also discussed how EXIM and Iraq can build on existing work to support a $5 billion memorandum of understanding (MOU) between EXIM and Iraq's Ministry of Finance that was signed last October.
On the call, Chairman Reed also highlighted EXIM's historic seven-year Congressional reauthorization, which directs EXIM to establish a new Program on China and Transformational Exports. The program is intended to help level the playing field for U.S. exporters and workers by directly neutralizing export subsidies for competing goods and services offered by the People's Republic of China. The program also focuses on supporting U.S. innovation, employment, and technological standards globally in ten transformational export industries.
Chairman Reed previously met with Ambassador Yasseen in June 2019, and EXIM has signed two preliminary commitments for U.S. exports to projects in Iraq. If these transactions reach final approval, they would support the export of U.S. gas-processing and power-related manufactured goods and services, and would support an estimated 3,200 jobs in Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Texas, Virginia, and Wisconsin.
EXIM President and Chairman Kimberly A. Reed and Ambassador Fareed Yasseen at EXIM's Headquarters on June 18, 2019
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.