It is also good for the global economy. By stopping aid financing from crowding out commercial financing, it helps direct scarce aid resources to the poorer countries, not the richer countries that can afford commercial financing. Other Initiatives Building on these initiatives, we are now in the process of negotiating OECD rules to restrict export subsidies further by requiring export credit agencies to charge appropriate risk, or exposure, fees. By agreeing on one international system for setting risk premia, we can further level the playing field for American exporters. Looking further out on the horizon, we are also exploring ways to maximize the ability of US exporters to benefit from untied aid programs.
Some countries offer aid without explicit ties.
Our goal is to ensure that these competitions are fair and transparent. We have already negotiated an agreement within the OECD whereby Japan and Germany now provide notification of untied aid they are granting for projects in developing countries. This information is now published regularly on the Department of Commerce's home page on the World Wide Web where it can be accessed by US firms seeking overseas business. Through its seat at the table at the OECD Export Credit Arrangement, it has enabled the US government to eliminate a number of unfair export subsidies, reducing barriers to US exports. But they are another vital way that the Ex-Im Bank helps boost exports and creates more high paying export jobs for the American people.