Unlock the White House Watch newsletter for free

Your guide to what Trump’s second term means for Washington, business and the world

Senators will introduce legislation on Wednesday to reauthorise funding for the US Export-Import Bank for the next decade, as lawmakers try to inject an extra $70bn into an agency that plays an increasingly central role in shoring up energy and minerals projects.

Kevin Cramer, the Republican senator from North Dakota who is co-sponsoring the reauthorisation legislation with Democrat Mark Warner, told the FT that Donald Trump was “all in” on funding the Ex-Im Bank, adding the US president “sees the value” of the institution.

Cramer said he would advocate for Ex-Im’s lending cap to be lifted from $135bn to $205bn as part of the reauthorisation package.

The effort to grow the pot of cash available to companies that are mining or manufacturing in strategic sectors comes as the Trump administration is scrambling to reduce its dependence on China for rare earths and other critical minerals. 

Last year, China imposed export controls on several important rare earths, which are used to manufacture goods ranging from jet planes to electric vehicles, as part of a broader trade war between the world’s two biggest economies. 

Without reauthorisation, funding for Ex-Im is set to expire at the end of the year. The agency provides financing to American businesses to help them compete for sales overseas, especially when private sector loans are not available.

Any reauthorisation bill needs sign-off from the House of Representatives and the Senate before it can be signed into law by Trump.

Cramer said he saw the bank as helping “foreign buyers of American products” and argued it would lower the US trade deficit by aiding American exporters.

“To balance trade, obviously people need to buy more stuff from us,” Cramer said. “You might be able to sweeten the pot a little bit with favourable financing terms that you couldn’t have without the Export-Import Bank.”

He added that financing from the bank could help the US strike more trade deals, offering a “carrot” to trading partners. 

“The president uses tariffs as a stick . . . he wields it as a pretty strong weapon,” Cramer said. “The Export-Import Bank makes some un-doable deals doable. I think the president, as a matter of business acumen, understands that.”

He cited military sales, pharmaceuticals, food, energy and critical minerals as sectors where Ex-Im could help boost American sales and bring the US closer to allies. 

Financing for Ex-Im was last authorised in 2019, but the agency has been attacked by lawmakers from both political parties for handing taxpayer money to private corporations. 

Some progressive Democrats have also raised concerns about the climate and human rights impact of Ex-Im investments.

As a presidential candidate in 2016, Trump described Ex-Im as “unnecessary” and a “one-way street” and “sort of a feather-bedding for politicians and others, and a few companies”. He later changed his position, describing the institution as a “very good thing” and supporting its reauthorisation in 2019. 

A White House spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.

Cramer said that while he expected to face some resistance from lawmakers, failing to fund Ex-Im would leave the US at a disadvantage.

“To me, it is not even really levelling the playing field, it’s just adding a tool to our tool chest . . . that every other developed nation has,” said Cramer.

Earlier this week, Ex-Im announced it would provide $10bn in debt financing to build up domestic stores of “essential raw materials” across the US that can be tapped by manufacturers such as carmakers.

The project is intended to help build up US supply chains and counter China’s control of the mineral and battery supply chains.