Senators seek US Export-Import Bank reauthorization to support push for critical minerals

Feb 4 (Reuters) – U.S. Senators Kevin Cramer and Mark Warner have introduced legislation to reauthorize the U.S. Export-Import Bank for the next decade, Cramer said in a statement on Wednesday, as the U.S. speeds up efforts to secure critical minerals.

Washington has been moving to offset what policymakers view as Chinese manipulation of prices for lithium, nickel, rare earths and other critical minerals, which are vital to making electric vehicles, high-tech weaponry and many other manufactured goods. 

Cramer, a Republican senator from North Dakota, is co-sponsoring the reauthorization legislation with Warner, a Democrat from Virginia, both of whom are members of the Senate Banking Committee.

The Financial Times first reported the news, saying Cramer would also seek to lift the bank’s lending cap by $70 billion to $205 billion as part of the reauthorization package.

“A ten-year authorization allows for greater certainty, and we know how important certainty is to investors. It gives American businesses a runway for making long-term plans without that looming threat of a lapse in authorization,” Cramer said. 

The bank is the official U.S. export credit agency, and offers support including loan guarantees and direct loans. It plans to invest $100 billion to secure U.S. and allied supply chains for critical minerals, nuclear energy and liquefied natural gas, the organization’s chair said in November.

Trump on Monday launched a U.S. strategic stockpile of critical minerals, called Project Vault, backed by $10 billion in seed funding from the U.S. Export-Import Bank and $2 billion in private funding.

U.S. Vice President JD Vance on Wednesday unveiled plans to marshal allies into a preferential trade bloc for critical minerals and proposed coordinated price floors.

“Renewing the Export-Import Bank is critical for Virginia businesses to stay viable in a global economy with China and other foreign competitors,” Warner told Reuters in an emailed statement.

(Reporting by Gursimran Kaur in Bengaluru and Kanjyik Ghosh in Barcelona, additional reporting by Heera Hari and Mihika Sharma, Editing by Louise Heavens, Chizu Nomiyama, Rod Nickel)