Oct 18 -- The Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) invites comments to OMB by November 24, 2023 regarding the extension of the Annual Competitiveness Report Survey of Exporters and Lenders. [Comments due 30 days after submission to OMB on October 25, 2023.]
As required by Export-Import Bank Act of 1945 (see section 8A(a)(1) of EXIM's charter), EXIM will survey U.S. exporters and commercial lending institutions to understand their experience with EXIM “meeting financial competition from other countries whose exporters compete with United States exporters.” EXIM plans to survey exporters and lenders that have engaged with EXIM on medium- and long-term support over the previous calendar year or responded to at least one of EXIM's last two surveys. The potential respondents will be sent an electronic invitation to participate in the online survey.
The proposed survey will ask participants about their potential or completed deals involving EXIM, their opinion of EXIM's policies and procedures, their interaction and perceptions of other export credit agencies, and impacts of overall market conditions on their businesses.
The survey results are used by EXIM in its congressionally mandated annual report on the agency’s competitiveness relative to other countries’ export credit agencies (ECAs). The purpose of the survey and the annual report on competitiveness is to inform an assessment on the financial terms and conditions available to U.S. exporters and how they compare to the financial terms and conditions offered by foreign official export credit providers that compete with US exporters. The aggregated information collected in the survey is included in the report and can inform EXIM deliberations on possible new programs and policy adjustments that would maintain the level playing field and enable buyers to make purchase decisions based on the quality and suitability of the product without regard for financing terms. The survey also affords U.S. exporters and financial institutions an opportunity to provide the U.S. Congress and other interested parties with insights regarding their experience working with EXIM and other foreign ECAs. This information can inform Congressional action related to EXIM’s periodic charter renewal. Survey results are also of keen interest to the global ECA community and can guide positions ECAs, including EXIM, take in international negotiations.
To boost the response rate and give respondents an opportunity to more fully convey their views, EXIM is revamping its survey, reducing the number of questions while expanding the opportunities for open responses. On the face of it, the new survey reduces the number of response items from 94 to 21, with items being selectively removed or consolidated. For instance, 6 questions related to background information about respondents were dropped to focus more on their views and experience rather than corporate profile. Additionally, the new survey simplifies the questionnaire by introducing a grid format that consolidates 14 competitiveness-related policies and practices and asks respondents to choose the degree and direction of influence (choosing from among 6 options from negative to positive or unknown). Respondents are also asked to explain in an open response question any or all choices as needed. With this revised format, EXIM no longer has to ask multiple questions to try to drill down to identify respondents’ experience with individual policies or programs. EXIM expects to obtain more fulsome information and be in a position to give a stronger voice to respondents’ views.
Annual Competitiveness Reports:
https://www.exim.gov/news/reports/competitiveness-reports
EXIM submission to OMB:
https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAViewICR?ref_nbr=202310-3048-001 Click on IC List for guide, View Supporting Statement for technical documentation. Submit comments through this site.
FRN:
https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2023-22991
For AEA members wishing to submit comments, "A Primer on How to Respond to Calls for Comment on Federal Data Collections" is available at
https://www.aeaweb.org/content/file?id=5806