Reasons for and against the Export/Import banks survival.  Over the last several years, the U.S. Export-Import Bank has become controversial for the first time in its 80-year history.  The controversy doesn’t make much sense since Ex-Im is a small, self-sustaining agency that does nothing more than what export-credit agencies in dozens of other nations do.  In fact, its operations are dwarfed by the export-promotion activities of countries like China.  Nonetheless, a handful of ideologues in the House Republican Conference have sought to block reauthorization of the bank despite large majorities in both chambers favoring its continuation.

Critics complain that it puts the government at risk, distorts markets and detroys jobs, all of which are paently untrue.  Whiile the US ExIm is not allowed to finance military exports, it is clear that miilitary and industrial exports are often interchangeable.  Oshkosh and Navistar were enlised to produce mine-resistant trucks when improvised explosive devices became a problem in wars in Iraq and afghanistan.  Foreign commerical sales help military contractors weather defense downturns.

The National Review fights back in generalities.  “his is the clear case of a government program that should be abolished. It is not free marke, it introduces many distortions in the capital market, it is unfair, it engages in careless ledning and fraud,  it benefits a few politically connected winners.

Actually,  by helping U.S. technology companies to sell abroad, Ex-Im enhances the ability of the joint force to exploit dual-use technologies from secure sources.  Most experts do not believe it is feasible to sustain a domestic industrial base for such items while only serving defense users.

The Export-Import Bank is one of the few federal agencies equipped to step in and level the playing field for industries that might otherwise be driven out of business by state-financed or influenced foreign competitors.  Many of the industries in question lie outside the traditional boundaries of the defense industrial base.  But when big threats arise, the entire economy must be mobilized to serve the demands of national security.  The only way sufficient indigenous industrial capacity can be sustained is to stay competitive in global markets, and Ex-Im plays a pivotal role in that process.