Category Archives: Media Appearances

The Washington Examiner has an excellent editorial opposing Export-Import Bank reauthorization, citing my recent paper:

Their bill would reauthorize Ex-Im for an unprecedented 10 years. This is a blatant effort to avoid reform and scrutiny from Congress. As the Competitive Enterprise Institute pointed out in a new paper on the Cramer-Sinema bill, “Ex-Im-related legislation would likely almost never appear on the congressional calendar if occasional reauthorization did not require it to.”

It also argues for a two-year reauthorization cycle, rather than 10 years–while noting that closing the bank altogether would be best. Read the whole editorial here.

Politico’s Morning Trade newsletter has an item on my Ex-Im paper, which was released today:

EX-IM CRITICS GET VOCAL AS DEADLINE APPROACHES: The Export-Import Bank faces a Sept. 30 deadline for reauthorization and critics are making a push to either shut down the bank or significantly restrain its power. A new paper today from the Competitive Enterprise Institute, a free-market think tank opposed to the bank, argues that allowing the bank to close its doors will save taxpayer money and end cronyism. Supporters of the bank contend that the institution is self-sufficient and helps U.S. exporters remain competitive against foreign rivals.

“The Export-Import Bank should be closed for a number of reasons, including internal corruption, corporate rent-seeking, and economic inefficiency,” CEI’s Ryan Young writes.

Legislation on the table: Despite its objections, CEI acknowledges that bipartisan legislation introduced in July by Sens. Kevin Cramer and Kyrsten Sinema will likely get enough support to pass. The bill would extend the bank’s charter for 10 years, raise the bank’s financial exposure cap to $175 billion over seven years and allow for the creation of a temporary board to lead the agency if the Senate refuses to confirm board members necessary to approve large transactions. CEI argues that the terms of the bill are far too generous, warning that “fortunately, this battle is not over, regardless of how the 2019 reauthorization cycle plays out.”

Read the whole newsletter here.

James Freeman quotes from my Export-Import Bank paper, due out tomorrow, in his Best of the Web column in The Wall Street Journal:

An Education in Crony Capitalism

The federal government’s Export-Import Bank, which has been proudly subsidizing big business for generations, is likely to be saved by Congress before its authorization expires at the end of the month. But the Competitive Enterprise Institute’s Ryan Young, author of a new paper due out tomorrow, is urging lawmakers to consider the possibilities of slightly smaller government. Mr. Young writes:

The Ex-Im Bank is compromised by internal corruption, constantly pressured by corporations seeking special favors, and creates economic inefficiencies by distorting markets… The Bank recently emerged from a nearly five-year period of reduced activity, which saved taxpayers an astonishing $47.9 billion – an average of $12 billion per year. Shuttering the bank could save Americans billions more.

Freeman’s whole column is here. Since Ex-Im reauthorization is near-certain, the bulk of the paper is on second-best reforms that can limit Ex-Im’s harms until its next reauthorization round. Closing the agency remains the ideal. I’ll post a link when the paper is released.