business backgrounder | economy
An Economic Win for Washington
With the state’s economy heavily linked to trade, a nearly two-year
effort by AWB and its members to renew the U.S. Export-Import Bank
charter was critical for retaining and growing jobs in Washington state.
Bobbi Cussins
AWB, along with nearly two dozen members, played a key role over the last two years to educate Washington’s
congressional delegation on the vital need for the U.S. Export-Import Bank, particularly for small employers, and its
positive impact on the economy.
Washington state’s economy is more
reliant on trade than almost any other
state in the nation.
The months-long West Coast port
slowdown that ended mid-2015 was
a harsh illustration of what happens
when Washington’s import and export
commerce — from snowshoes to apples
and everything in between — is stalled
at Washington ports and shipping hubs
around the globe.
Compounding that economic hit was
the threat of a little-known, but well-used,
federal agency, the U.S. Export-Import
(Ex-Im) Bank, closing shop June 30, 2015
due to congressional inaction.
The Ex-Im Bank is an independent
federal agency that helps finance and
i n s u re t h e f o re i g n ex p o r t s a l e s o f
American products, much like what 59
Pat Shanahan, senior vice president of Airplane Programs for Boeing Commercial Airplanes, leads
applause at a Dec. 4, 2015, press conference celebrating congressional reauthorization of the Exportother countries have in place to support
Import Bank.
their export operations.
The bank is a lifeline for American
small businesses, like Yakima-based music stand manufacturer Manhasset Specialty Company and Hilliard’s Beer in Ballard. It gives them
access to overseas markets to expand their export presence around the globe.
Because Washington state is the largest user of the bank, it stood to reason the Northwest economy had the most to lose if the bank was
shuttered.
The numbers speak for themselves: Data sourced
from the Ex-Im Bank website reports 217 Washington
employers, most of them small businesses, rely on
services and products offered by the Ex-Im Bank.
More than 820,000 Washington jobs are supported
— Dan Roberts, president, Manhasset Specialty Company
based on the employers utilizing the bank’s services
to generate export and import business.
“A rough estimate would be that half of our export sales
would not have been possible without the Ex-Im Bank
insurance program and the ability to offer open terms.”
34 association of washington business