On September 12, 2017, the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) announced that the agency is extending assistance to U.S. exporters and financial institutions located in areas that are declared by President Donald J. Trump to be federal disaster areas due to the impacts of hurricanes during the 2017 season.
In August, EXIM offered hurricane assistance to exporters in areas of Texas and Louisiana that were affected by Hurricane Harvey. Today's announcement broadens the geographic scope and extends the time frames of EXIM's assistance to U.S. exporters in multiple states that are affected by Hurricane Irma and other hurricanes that may make landfall in the United States in 2017.
"This has been an incredibly challenging hurricane season in the United States, and the employees of the Export-Import Bank extend our thoughts and prayers to all Americans who are or will be affected by these devastating storms," said EXIM Acting Chairman and President Charles J. Hall. "We want to help our fellow Americans recover as quickly as possible. Small businesses often have difficulty resuming operations, and these customers have a lot more on their minds than their export finance obligations. We're here to help them get back up and running as soon as possible by providing them with flexibility on deadlines relating to the use of our products."
EXIM is offering assistance in areas that are declared to be federal disaster areas by President Trump for an initial period of six months to allow businesses and financial institutions that participate in EXIM's programs to return to their business concerns when appropriate, and without penalty, due to missed deadlines or other timeliness issues. Special consideration and assistance will be tailored to the customer and provided on a case-by-case basis.
For details, affected exporters and financial institutions may inquire through the following channels:
Brokered Insurance Policies Customers should contact the brokers of their EXIM export-credit insurance policies.
Non-brokered Insurance Policies Customer should contact EXIM's call center at 202-565-EXIM (3946) to be directed to the appropriate EXIM staff person.
Working Capital Loan Guarantees Customers should contact Pamela Bowers, Vice President of Business Credit, pamela.bowers@exim.gov
ABOUT EXIM BANK:
EXIM Bank is an independent federal agency that helps create, support, and maintain U.S. jobs by filling gaps in private export financing at no cost to American taxpayers. The Bank provides a variety of financing mechanisms, including working capital guarantees and export credit insurance, to promote the sale of U.S. goods and services abroad. Almost 90 percent of the bank's transactions directly serve American small businesses.
In fiscal year 2016 (October 1, 2015, through September 30, 2016), EXIM approved $5 billion in total authorizations to support an estimated $8 billion of U.S. export sales. Since FY 2009, EXIM has supported more than 1.4 million American jobs in communities across the country and sent $3.8 billion in revenue to the U.S. Treasury for deficit reduction.