Richard A. White
Manager, State & Local Government Operations
The Boeing Company
As you know, exports make up the bulk of commercial airplanes sales – roughly 80 percent – and our success as a business depends heavily on Boeing Commercial Airplane’s (BCA) ability to win in a global marketplace that is growing more crowded and competitive every day. That is why we are calling your attention to a public policy issue – the U.S. Export Import Bank (Ex-Im) – that has a profound effect on BCA’s ability to sell overseas.
Ex-Im is a government agency that provides loan guarantees that are needed by some foreign airlines to pay for the delivery of commercial airplanes. Without action by the U.S. Congress, the bank’s charter will expire at the end of June. That may sound like a lot of time, but it represents less than 60 legislative work days from now.
Without the assurance that financing will be available to support an airplane purchase, foreign airlines would most likely turn to Airbus, which can offer prospective customers credit assistance from up to three European agencies. Waiting in the wings are airplane manufacturers from China, Brazil and Canada – countries that also provide credit assistance to support aviation exports.
If Ex-Im is allowed to expire through congressional inaction or obstruction, Boeing can expect, at minimum, to win fewer sales campaigns and ultimately lose global market share to Airbus and other emerging competitors. We have heard from many Boeing customers who are concerned about the fate of Ex-Im and how this factors into their decisions about future airplane purchases.
So Ex-Im is not just another Washington, D.C., political dispute. It has real-world consequences for BCA, our employees and the families and communities they support. Billions of dollars in revenue and thousands of BCA jobs are at stake.
Congress is now considering legislation that would extend the bank’s charter. Please consider taking a few minutes to visit this website, created by the Exporters for Ex-Im Coalition. The website makes it easy to send a sample letter or contact your member of Congress advocating for long-term Ex-Im reauthorization.
Richard White is a Government Relations manager for The Boeing Company. He is a graduate of the University of Washington with a bachelor’s degree in political science and a master's degree in public administration from the Evans School of Public Affairs. He was a 2005 Marshall Memorial Fellow and is a 2000 graduate of Leadership Tomorrow. White’s current activities and volunteer experiences include serving on the Board of Directors for the Everett Public Library, United Way of Snohomish County, Leadership Tomorrow, Economic Development Board for Tacoma & Pierce County and nearly a dozen other groups, chambers and agencies.