International Association of Machinists and Aerosp : Machinists Union Will Fight Midnight Raid on U.S. Domestic Content Rules

The Export-Import Bank, the U.S. export credit agency that is supposed to support U.S. jobs by financing exports of U.S.-made goods, is instead considering extreme proposals to destroy requirements that tie financing to domestic content rules.

Under the guise of competition from China, the Bank posted a public notice just before Thanksgiving soliciting comments on weakening its current domestic content requirements. Proposals to weaken the current content rules would allow U.S. exporters to offshore more American jobs to other countries and receive Ex-Im financing to do so.

'The Machinists Union and our allies will continue to advocate for stronger domestic content rules, an end to offshoring and a return of our vital supply chains,' said IAM International President Robert Martinez Jr. 'At a time when we should be pushing hard for greater domestic content and reshoring, the Bank is considering going in the opposite direction. To make matters even worse, if domestic content rules are weakened, China could benefit by supplying the materials, parts and components that could then be financed by the Bank itself. This is outrageous.

The IAM urges District and Local Lodges as well as individual members to weigh in by December 14 with the Bank and submit comments using this link.