The Export-Import Bank is a self-sustaining federal agency that provides export financing to strengthen U.S. export competitiveness to create and maintain U.S. jobs. Atradius is a global provider of trade credit insurance and analysis to help businesses make informed decisions about their foreign customers and to protect against bad debt.
The reinsurance program is the first of its kind offered in the U.S. and designed to build the infrastructure necessary to bolster American exports, shrink the U.S. trade deficit and create U.S. jobs. The initiative works by extending trade credit insurance and the protection it provides against unpaid invoices to more American small businesses, which have been constrained by the global recession. Through this program, these small to mid-sized U.S. exporters may now confidently secure new sales channels in some of the world’s fastest-growing markets.
In February, President Obama issued a mandate to double U.S. exports and support 2 million American jobs during the next five years. The president reinforced this message in a July speech on the topic of U.S. exports when he remarked, “Ninety-five percent of the world’s customers and fastest-growing markets are beyond our borders. So if we want to find new growth streams … new markets and new opportunity, we’ve got to compete for those new customers – because other nations are ….”
The public-private nature of this short-term reinsurance initiative follows President Obama’s mandate and works by sharing risk among the insured business, Atradius and the Export-Import Bank. The program calls for Atradius to issue the credit insurance policies to the U.S. small business exporters, with the Export-Import Bank providing reinsurance for transactions that exceed capacity levels for approved countries or, that in this post-September 2008 economy, are deemed higher risk.
Trade credit insurance protects exporters’ accounts receivable from nonpayment. According to Atradius Trade Credit Insurance’s CFO Thomas Beckwith, insuring accounts receivable helps businesses of all sizes reduce their exposure to bad debt, maintain positive cash flow and offer more competitive business terms. Without trade credit insurance, Beckwith says, companies are vulnerable to economic, cultural and political threats that inhibit exporters’, especially smaller companies’, ability to pursue or succeed in remote markets.
“We believe that the U.S. export market respresents a signficant driver for our nation’s economic recovery, and we are delighted to be the first to partner with the Export-Import Bank to ensure exporters have greater access to modern business tools, like trade credit insurance, to grow their U.S.-based businesses and our domestic economy,” said Beckwith.
To learn more about Atradius and the partnership program with the Export-Import Bank go to: www.atradius.us or call us at 1(800) 822-3223.
About Atradius
The Atradius Group provides trade credit insurance, bonding and collections services worldwide, and has a presence in 42 countries. Its products and services aim to help reduce its customers’ exposure to buyers who cannot pay for the products and services they purchase. With total income of more than EUR 1.8 billion and a market share of approximately 31 percent of the global trade credit insurance market, products of Atradius contribute to the profitability of companies throughout the world by protecting them from payment risks associated with selling products and services on credit. With 160 offices, Atradius has access to credit information on 52 million companies worldwide and makes more than 22,000 trade credit limit decisions daily. In the U.S., Atradius Trade Credit Insurance, Inc. is located in Hunt Valley, MD and is licensed in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.