The Export-Import Bank of the United States last week unveiled a new policy aimed at boosting U.S. aviation industry exports, in part by offering for the first time to finance sales by U.S. small businesses to foreign aircraft manufacturers such as Airbus. At the same time, however, the bank also expanded the scope of an existing ban on financing for similar exports by large firms. While Ex-Im since 1972 has prohibited itself from offering financing for sales of U.S. goods and services to Airbus on the grounds that the European plane maker receives unfair subsidies for the production of large civil aircraft, the bank's new policy would exempt small businesses from that ban, according to Ex-Im spokesman Phil Cogan. In the case of large companies, the new policy would extend the ban to prevent bank support for exports to Canada-based Bombardier for its C-series aircraft and Chinese aviation firm COMAC for its C919 plane, Cogan said in an interview with Inside U.S. Trade. He said the new policy reflects the administration's view that Bombardier and COMAC are also receiving unfair subsides for the production of these aircraft, and that Ex-Im does not want to give those companies a further advantage over U.S. plane maker Boeing. But Cogan stopped short of calling the new policy a measure aimed at punishing those companies.
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