Dear President Trump:
On behalf of the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association (IMA) and our 4,000 member companies and facilities across Illinois, I write to express our opposition to the nomination of Scott Garrett to serve as president of the U.S. Export-Import Bank.
The manufacturing community is strongly supportive of many of your initiatives including comprehensive tax reform, investment in infrastructure and energy, and regulatory reform. Our members are proud to make things in America and we want to keep it that way. Today, Illinois manufacturers employ 570,000 workers and contribute the single largest share of the Gross State Product.
Last year, Illinois exports totaled nearly $65 billion and ninety-three percent of the exports were manufactured products. Our member companies make products and components that are shipped to customers around the world every single day. Exporting products is essential for a vibrant manufacturing sector in Illinois because ninety-five percent of the world’s consumers live outside of the United States.
The Ex-Im Bank is critically important for companies looking to export because it serves as a bank of last resort when conventional financing is not available. It’s a very effective tool that allows American companies to make sales around the world while earning millions of dollars in revenue for the U.S. Treasury. At least 85 other countries have government-backed credit agencies aggressively supporting their own industries. If the Ex-Im Bank does not function properly, American companies and American workers will lose.
Your appointee, Scott Garrett, is a frequent and outspoken critic who voted numerous times against reauthorizing the Ex-Im Bank. As a member of Congress, he called on his colleagues to put the Ex-Im Bank “out of business.” We cannot afford to have Mr. Garrett in charge of the Ex-Im Bank.
On behalf of the IMA, I’d ask that you withdraw Mr. Garrett’s nomination and advance a candidate supportive of the Ex-Im Bank.
Best,
Greg Baise
President & CEO
