Imagine you run a big U.S. company that competes against foreign companies. Imagine the U.S. government subsidizes your foreign competitors.
That’s the position of Delta Air Lines.
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The single biggest activity of the Export-Import Bank is subsidizing Boeing‘s sales to foreign airlines. That means foreign airlines get artificially low prices for their planes. Delta doesn’t get such subsidies.
So when congressmen and Ex-Im officials say “Ex-Im creates jobs,” they’re thinking of the exporters, but ignoring that Ex-Im destroys jobs at places like Delta.
Many Republicans want to let Ex-Im’s charter expire September 30, without renewing it. Other Republicans are looking for ways to reform the agency. Delta CEO Richard Anderson today proposed one such reform: Bar Ex-Im from financing the export of wide-body jets to foreign airlines — such as state-owned and profitable private airlines — that can get credit on the private credit market.
This would significantly curb Ex-Im’s loan-guarantee program, which dedicates most of its dollars to subsidizing Boeing sales.
There are other victims of Export-Import Bank, of course — such as domestic competitors of the very few U.S. businesses to get subsidy exports. Or U.S. semiconductor makers competing against foreign semiconductor makers who get Ex-Im subsidies.
