November 10 - UTC Overseas has applauded recent actions by Congress that support the reauthorisation of the U.S. Export-Import (Ex-Im) Bank.
According to UTC, on October 29, a strong bipartisan House coalition voted overwhelmingly to approve the Senate version of the Ex-Im reauthorisation that passed in July.
On November 4, in conjunction with the House debate on the transportation bill, the House overwhelmingly rejected proposed amendments to the Senate Ex-Im language that could have significantly harmed the effectiveness of the Ex-Im programmes and the competitiveness of US companies internationally, said UTC.
UTC explained that the passage means the Bank reauthorisation language in the House and the Senate bills are identical, and therefore should not require any changes when the conference committee meets to reconcile the Senate & House Transportation Bills.
However, said UTC, final steps still need to be taken and the company is urging supporters to keep up the pressure. The conference committee is currently working on a deadline for final passage of November 20 when the current short-term extension of authorised highway spending expires.
Alan Favicchio, oil and gas director for UTC, who has actively supported the Bank in one-on-one meetings with members of Congress, commented: "The strong vote in support of reauthorisation demonstrates that both chambers recognise the importance of the Bank in simulating export sales of US goods, the American economy and jobs growth. They clearly got the strong message from American businesses that Ex-Im is a vital tool in closing export deals in the highly competitive global marketplace."
UTC global chief operating officer Mirko Knezevic added: "Halting the Bank would be a unilateral disarmament in our global competition for export sales. Without a national agency to provide loan guarantees and technical help to US exporters, we will lose overseas sales and American jobs to other nations who operate similar programmes and recognise their importance in the stimulation of international trade.
"The Bank's services stimulate US exports, and in turn, opportunities for us to plan and implement logistics service solutions for those exports. We have also seen clear evidence that without the Bank, US companies were beginning to shift production and jobs overseas as other countries offered the financing assistance they could no longer get here."
UTC encourages supporters not to slacken their efforts to win final passage. "We will continue to urge our customers, colleagues, associates and employees to push Bank reauthorisation over the finish line," said the company.
