Sponsored By
An organization or individual has paid for the creation of this work but did not approve or review it.

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

Sen. Cramer hosts Export-Import Bank town hall in Fargo

101620.B.FF.EXIM.02.jpg
Thomas Shorma, Doug Goehring, Sen. Kevin Cramer, Kimberly Reed, Sen. John Hoeven, Kirt Gallatin and John Harju participate in the EXIM Trade Finance Town Hall on Wednesday, Oct. 14, at the Sanctuary Events Center in downtown Fargo. David Samson / The Forum

Editor's note: This story was revised Thursday, Oct. 15, to correct the dollar amount EXIM was asked to devote to helping American exporters match China's bargaining terms.

FARGO — Sen. Kevin Cramer hosted a trade finance town hall highlighting the Export-Import Bank's (EXIM) efforts to support North Dakota exporters Wednesday, Oct. 14, at the Sanctuary Events Center in Fargo.

The panel discussion featured a presentation from EXIM Bank President Kimberly Reed on EXIM's impact on the North Dakota and United States economy as well as comments from Sen. John Hoeven, North Dakota Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring and other area business leaders.

EXIM Bank, Cramer said, is "really important to a lot of people". According to Reed, 90% of EXIM's nationwide transactions and 74% of North Dakota's transactions involved small businesses.

Cramer, along with Arizona Democrat Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, secured a seven-year extension for EXIM, which is typically renewed on a four or five year basis. The seven-year extension, the longest extension since the bank's inception in 1934, was proposed in July of 2019 and ultimately passed in the following December's omnibus bill.

ADVERTISEMENT

Both Cramer and Hoeven were in favor of EXIM's extension, which drew supporters and detractors from both sides of the aisle. Those against the extension, Cramer said, were overlooking the benefits EXIM provided small businesses.

101620.B.FF.EXIM.01.jpg
At an EXIM Trade Finance town hall Wednesday, Oct. 14, in Fargo, EXIM Bank President Kimberly Reed said EXIM has supported $40 million in exports from 19 North Dakota exporters in 14 small businesses. David Samson / The Forum

"There are many people on the right side who just have a purity of philosophy that says 'that's corporate welfare'," Cramer explained. "That ignores the fact that there are 114 competing countries who have a tool that you are not allowing yours to have."

"There are others, equally probably, on the left who just see it as corporate welfare. They see it as an inappropriate handout, if you will, to Boeing and General Electric," Cramer said, adding that those opponents either forget or do not realize the number of smaller businesses involved in the supply chain for larger corporations. An example, Cramer said, is Killdeer Mountain Manufacturing , a Boeing supplier based in Killdeer, N.D.

"The supply chain is what makes big things happen in our country," Reed said.

ADVERTISEMENT

EXIM has returned $9 billion to the United States Treasury, Reed stated, prompting Cramer to call the bank a "bargain".

Reed, a nominee of President Donald Trump, thanked Cramer for his work in securing the EXIM extension.

"Our new mission is keeping America strong and empowering U.S. and North Dakota businesses and workers to compete locally," Reed said, crediting EXIM for facilitating trade between American businesses and over 180 countries nationwide.

Thomas Shorma, President and CEO of WCCO Belting in Wahpeton, N.D., said his firm sells rubber conveyor belts to every major farm equipment manufacturer worldwide, a task he said would not be possible without EXIM's insurance offerings. As a result, more than half of WCCO Belting's revenue comes from outside the United States.

In total, EXIM has supported $40 million in exports from 19 North Dakota exporters in 14 small businesses, Reed said.

According to Reed, EXIM has turned its focus to undermining China's bargaining power in the world economy. Following publication of their 2019 competitiveness report, Congress directed EXIM to devote $27 billion to "neutralize" China by helping American exporters match China's bargaining terms, she said.

"We love selling food to one-and-a-half billion people," Cramer said. "China has not been a fair player on the world stage."

Cramer lauded EXIM's ability to enhance the United States' "soft power" through commerce.

ADVERTISEMENT

"The ability to play a diplomatic role with our resources is so much better value than another hypersonic missile," Cramer said. "The way we avoid ever having to fire one is to have them but also have the relationships that this kind of a tool provides."

Thomas Evanella is a news editor for The Forum. He's worked for The Forum for over three years, previously reporting on business news. He's also the host of the InForum Business Beat podcast, which can be streamed at InForum.com/podcasts or wherever you listen to your podcasts. Reach him at tevanella@forumcomm.com or by calling 701-241-5518. Follow him on Twitter @ThomasEvanella.

ADVERTISEMENT

What To Read Next
Get Local

ADVERTISEMENT