It’s preposterous. There’s no problem that’s getting addressed with this solution, this is a solution in search of some problem.
See this page in the PDF
Department of the Treasury
20
The Export-Import Bank Should Be Abolished
EXPORT-IMPORT BANK
THE EXPORT-IMPORT BANK SHOULD BE ABOLISHED Veronique de Rugy
he Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM or the Bank) is a federal
agency that was established in 1934 to provide export subsidies through taxpayer-backed financing to private exporting corporations, as well as to foreign companies buying U.S. exports, with the ostensible purpose of promoting American exports, creating jobs, supporting small businesses, improving U.S. competitiveness, and protecting U.S. taxpayers.
In 1986, David Stockman, who served as Director of the Office of Management
and Budget under President Ronald Reagan, wrote that:
Export subsidies are a mercantilist illusion, based on the illogical proposition that a nation can raise its employment and GNP by giving away its goods for less than what it costs to make them.... Export subsidies subtract from GNP and jobs, not expand them.... Moreover, in 1981, the EXIM’s practice was to bestow about two thirds of its subsidies on a handful of giant manufacturers, including Boeing aircraft, General Electric, and Westinghouse.’
Since then, very little has changed. EXIM operates in effect as a protectionist agency that picks winners and losers in the market by providing political privileges to firms that are already well-financed. By doing so, it risks taxpayer funds as it stymies economic growth. This reality is not altered by the argument that the Bank could be a weapon to fight China—an argument that rests on a misguided