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EXIM BANK OFFERS PROGRAMS TO SAN DIEGO EXPORTERS

SAN DIEGO - The Export-Import Bank of the United States has established its new San Diego headquarters at the San Diego Export Assistance Center. 

The office offers three major programs: first, working capital guarantees for exporters in need of working capital financing, under which the bank encourages lenders to provide short-term loans to exporters by guaranteeing 90% of the loan; second, short-term insurance, which protects exporters against risk of non-payment by foreign buyers on open account sales with repayment terms of up to 180-days, or 360-days for sales of capital equipment; and, third, medium-term insurance or loan guarantees, which encourage lenders to finance foreign buyers purchasing capital equipment from US suppliers on terms ranging between 2-5 years. 

The loan guarantee program allows exporters to provide access to attractive financing terms to foreign buyers.  The exporter gets paid upon presentation of export documents to a lender.

To qualify for Exim Bank services, exporters should have a minimum three-year operating history; a minimum of one-year exporting experience.

In addition, the product to be exported must have at least 51% US content.

Interested San Diego-area companies should contact: Ms. Sandra P. Donzella, Senior Business Development Officer, Export-Import Bank, San Diego Export Assistance Center, 6363 Greenwich Drive, Suite 230, San Diego, CA 92122. Tel: (619) 557-7091.
 
WORLD BANK APPROVES RUSSIAN CUSTOMS DEVELOPMENT LOAN

WASHINGTON, DC - The World Bank has approved a $140 million loan to the Russian Federation for its Customs Development Project, which "will help [Russia] further integrate the country into the world trading community and secure the benefits from foreign and domestic investments in the economy."

The main objective of the project is to support reform and modernization of the Russian customs administration: aligning the Customs institutions, their organization, and procedures to international practice and ensuring their expected role in a modern market economy.
 
According to the World Bank, the project will promote internationally acceptable conditions for international trade by adopting Customs standards that facilitate trade by implementing procedures to expedite the processing of low-risk transactions while improving the detection and prevention of contraband; facilitating international commerce and accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO); and promoting the participation of the trade community and other key stakeholders in the strategic planning to foster a stronger partnership between State Customs Committee and participants of foreign economic activities.

Other targets include transforming the mindset of customs officers towards the trade activity from one of protection of country borders to one of facilitating legitimate international commerce; modernizing the Information Technology (IT) infrastructure of the State Customs Committee, and instituting e-Government facilities for information and interaction with the trade community, including electronic filing of declarations; increasing the effectiveness of the Customs service and reducing the compliance burden imposed on traders; and increasing taxpayer compliance with and uniformity of application of the Customs Code.

The project has a total cost of $187.2 million, of which $140 million will be financed by the World Bank with the remaining $47.2 million provided by the Russian Federation.

The terms of the loan include a 5-year grace period and 17 years' maturity.

The Russian Federation joined the World Bank in 1992. Since then, commitments to the country total to more than US$13 billion for 56 projects.

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