Holtec, National Association of Manufacturers, and Westinghouse Call on Congress to Reauthorize Ex-Im Bank

Jay Timmons (National Association of Manufacturers), Danny Roderick (Westinghouse Electric Company), and Pierre Oneid (Holtec International) urge Congress to reauthorize the U.S. Export-Import Bank. Photo by Ian Wagreich.

On July 25, 2014, theNational Association of Manufacturers (NAM) hosted a roundtable discussion withbusiness leaders from Holtec International and Westinghouse Electric Company tourge Congress to reauthorize the U.S. Export-Import (Ex-Im) Bank, which iscritical to hundreds of Pennsylvania companies and thousands of workers to growsales overseas in a highly competitive global economy.
NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons, Westinghouse President and CEO DannyRoderick and Holtec Senior Vice President Pierre Paul Oneid agreed thatcompanies of all sizes — and their suppliers — will be adversely affected ifCongress fails to reauthorize the Bank’s charter, which will expire unlessCongress acts by September 30.

Pierre Oneid also noted the vital role of Ex-Im in promoting US foreign policygoals.

"We are currently seeking assistance from the EX-Im bank for a criticalproject in the Ukraine to design and build the Central Spent Fuel StorageFacility (CSFSF) to store the used nuclear fuel generated by Ukraine’s eightreactors. This project will create some 200 manufacturing jobs here in PA andOhio,” said Holtec’s Oneid. “Without this facility, Ukraine would remaindependent on Russia to keep its nuclear reactors running. Ex-Im must continueto live: It is the only viable loan guarantor that can enable funding for thisproject.  We consider Ex-Im a valuable instrument of our government'sforeign policy of which the situation in Ukraine is a textbook example.”

Holtec International operates in 12 countries overseas and is the nation’slargest exporter of capital equipment to the global nuclear industry.

“The Ex-Im Bank is limited in scope but crucial for thousands of companies likeWestinghouse in hundreds of congressional districts as well as suppliers likeHoltec that otherwise would not be able to compete on a level playing field,”said NAM President Timmons. “In today’s global economy, manufacturers in theUnited States must compete on quality, price, reliability and on-time delivery.These companies should not be left without vital Ex-Im services and losebusiness because foreign countries provide official export financing to supporttheir companies.”
 
“This is not a partisan issue. This is an American competitiveness issue. Fromthe energy industry perspective, Ex-Im is an absolute necessity in order tocompete globally against state-funded and state-subsidized companies,” Mr.Roderick said. “The U.S. Export-Import Bank is essential, therefore, asWestinghouse pursues global market opportunities which the U.S. Department ofCommerce values up to $740 billion, and which can create and sustain tens ofthousands of high-paying U.S. jobs.” The failure to reauthorize the Ex-Im Bankwill put businesses of all sizes at a disadvantage in the global economy,especially those competing in the global nuclear industry.

The NAM is part of an effort of American businesses and organizations to getthe bank’s charter renewed so that manufacturers in the United States cancompete in global markets on a level playing field.  For more information,visit exportersforexim.org.