Across the quiet stretches of land in North Dakota, it can be easy to forget just how connected we are to the global economy.
The thousands of farms and ranches that dot our landscape form our largest economic sector, accounting for a quarter of the state’s economic base. That foundation relies on international markets, with $5.4 billion in agricultural exports shipped abroad in 2023 alone.
Our global connection does not stop at agriculture. North Dakota’s manufacturing exports generated $6.8 billion in economic value in 2024.
Strong global trade did not develop overnight. It was cultivated over generations of hardworking North Dakotans, and when our farmers and businesses needed a helping hand, they received essential investments from the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) to expand their market bases and grow.
EXIM serves as the federal government’s export credit agency, providing American exporters with financial services like export credit insurance and loan guarantees to help secure financing and increase sales abroad. By reducing the risk involved in complex international transactions, EXIM enables American businesses – particularly small and medium-sized businesses – to compete on a level playing field in global markets.
Over the past decade, EXIM has provided $66 billion in support, generating over $100 billion in total exports. Here in North Dakota, EXIM has supported
in total export value since 2014 through insurances, loan guarantees, or direct loans.
More than 70% of EXIM’s support in North Dakota has gone to small and medium-sized businesses, ranging from grain producers to specialized computer manufacturers. On a national scale, nearly 90% of EXIM’s investments supported America’s small businesses.
Those numbers translate into real-world impact: boosting payrolls, expanding operations, strengthened communities.
Kildeer Mountain Manufacturing (KMM) is a multi-generational business that manufactures subassemblies that become key components in aerospace and military products. As a family-owned business in America’s Heartland, exporting our products was a daunting process. It came with high risks and no guarantees. However, our products are essential to the aerospace supply chain not only in the United States, but world-wide. We have been beneficiaries of EXIM-backed financing directly and indirectly, as have so many other small-and-medium-sized businesses. A strong EXIM Bank means a strong aerospace supply chain.
That rising tide of support doesn’t lift just one company – it sustains entire rural communities through new jobs, stronger wages, and local investments. For nearly four decades, KMM has been a job creator in our community and worked to support local growth and prosperity. Thanks to EXIM, our business has invested in cutting-edge technology that is shaping how we train and educate our workforce. Increased export business also helped KMM expand its footprint from our facility in Killdeer to additional locations in Dickinson, Hettinger, and Regent. Today, we employ 350 North Dakotans who take pride in making our state an essential link in the aerospace supply chain.
For farmers, ranchers, manufacturers, and rural communities alike, access to global markets is not optional — it’s critical. Access to these markets hinge on the Export-Import bank. Unfortunately, its charter expires at the end of 2026. A lapse in EXIM’s authorization would create instability and uncertainty in supply chains across industries. That’s why Congress must act now.
Reauthorization comes at a time when American exporters face intense global competition, with 116 foreign export credit agencies actively backing their domestic producers. When Congress last allowed EXIM’s charter to lapse in 2015, the Bank suffered substantial reputational damage and remained constrained until 2019. During that period, EXIM lost ground to foreign competitors.
North Dakota’s own, Senator Kevin Cramer, recently introduced a bipartisan Senate bill to reauthorize EXIM for a historic 10-year term. A long-term extension would provide the stability American exporters need to make confident investments that benefit small businesses, workers, and communities across the country.
From rural America, the message is clear: Congress must move quickly to pass the EXIM Bank reauthorization. American exporters and the communities that depend on them cannot afford to lose an essential tool to compete and win in the global market.