This week, I marked my 100th day as President and Chair of the Export-Import Bank of the United States. I hit the ground running to let the world know EXIM is back and open for business. During this time, I have had three core focus areas: resetting, renewing and rebuilding.
While we have made much progress, as outlined below, we are launching today – my 101st day – a digital campaign, #EXIM101, to highlight tools and resources to help U.S. businesses export, grow and succeed.
While working to reset the agency’s relationships around the world, I have:
- Hosted more than 20 foreign delegations at EXIM
- Represented the agency at the Berne Union, the Milken Conference, the World Economic Forum, the U.S. Conference of Mayors, Select USA, and more
- Hosted dialogues with stakeholders from trade associations, small business organizations, LGBTQ leaders, climate finance groups, African American, Latino, and AAPI Chambers of Commerce, and more
- Met with more than three dozen elected officials from every level of government
- Launched two new advisory committees – the Council on Small Business and the Council on Advancing Women in Business
- Begun a 50-state tour to ensure EXIM is reaching exporters across the entire country
Since February 16th, EXIM has renewed its commitment to fulfilling the EXIM mission effectively and efficiently by:
- Authorizing more than $2 billion for EXIM support
- Hiring the first staff members for the new Office of Global Finance Development
- Renewing co-financing agreements with export credit agencies like Bpifrance
- Beginning the process of taking on targeted reforms that will strengthen EXIM’s competitiveness
- Finalizing the agency’s strategic plan for 2022-2026
Having celebrated this first major milestone and looking forward to the coming months and years, I, with the support of the EXIM team, have worked to rebuild the agency’s priorities and meet the challenges EXIM will encounter in this new era by:
- Passing the Make More in America Initiative
- Advancing several transactions with a China and Transformational Exports component
- Appointing a climate outreach director and held engagements with an array of clean energy stakeholders
- Forming a sub-Saharan Africa internal working group
- Taking bold action to officially close in Russia following their illegal invasion of Ukraine
As the team at EXIM continues to build upon the momentum gained during the past 100 days, we are excited to kick off #EXIM101, a digital campaign highlighting resources to help educate stakeholders, especially small businesses, about EXIM’s core offerings, the benefits of exporting, and opportunities to grow sales and expand to new markets. The campaign will run for two months and will feature daily content across EXIM’s digital platforms. Follow us on our social media platforms Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram!
Sincerely,
Reta Jo Lewis, Esq.
President and Chair of the EXIM Board of Directors
