Tied Aid Credit Fund and program

The Congress finds that— the Bank has, at a minimum, the following two tasks— there should be established in the Bank a tied aid program to target the export markets of those countries, including those that are not a party to the Arrangement, which make extensive use of tied aid or partially untied aid credits, or untied aid used to promote exports as if it were tied aid, for commercial advantage for the purposes of— The Bank shall establish a tied aid credit program under which grants shall be made from funds available in the Tied Aid Credit Fund established under subsection (c)— to supplement the financing of a United States export when there is a reasonable expectation that predatory financing will be provided by another country for a sale by a competitor of the United States exporter with respect to such export and with special attention to matching tied aid and partially untied aid credits extended by other governments— to supplement the financing of United States exports to foreign markets which are actual or potential export markets for any country which the Bank determines— The tied aid credit program shall be administered by the Bank— Under the tied aid credit program, the Bank may combine grants from the Tied Aid Credit Fund with— In order to assist the Bank to make the most efficient use of funds available for supplemental financing under paragraph (1)(B), the United States Trade Representative and the Secretary of Commerce may provide information on principal sectors and key markets of countries described in paragraph (1)(B) to the Bank, the Secretary, and the National Advisory Council on International Monetary and Financial Policies. The Bank shall also request and take into consideration the views of the private sector on principal sectors and key markets of countries described in paragraph (1)(B). The Secretary and the Bank jointly shall develop a process for, and the principles and standards to be used in, determining how the amounts in the Tied Aid Credit Fund could be used most effectively and efficiently to carry out the purposes of subsection (a)(6). In developing the principles and standards referred to in subparagraph (A), the Secretary and the Bank shall consider administering the Tied Aid Credit Fund in accordance with the following principles and standards: In handling individual applications involving the use or potential use of the Tied Aid Credit Fund the following process shall exclusively apply pursuant to subparagraph (A): As soon as is practicable but not later than 6 months after June 14, 2002, the Secretary and the Bank shall submit to the Committee on Financial Services of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate a copy of the principles, process, and standards developed pursuant to subparagraph (A). The principles and standards set forth in subparagraph (B)(i) shall govern the use of the Tied Aid Credit Fund until the principles, process, and standards required by subparagraph (C) are submitted. The Secretary and the Bank jointly should update and revise, as needed, the principles, process, and standards developed pursuant to subparagraph (A), and, on doing so, shall submit to the Committee on Financial Services of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate a copy of the principles, process, and standards so updated and revised. Taking into consideration the time sensitivity of transactions, the Board of Directors of the Bank shall expeditiously pursuant to paragraph (2) reconsider a decision of the Board to deny an application for the use of the Tied Aid Credit Fund if the applicant submits the request for reconsideration within 3 months of the denial. In any such reconsideration, the applicant may be required to provide new information on the application. There is hereby established within the Bank a fund to be known as the “Tied Aid Credit Fund” (hereinafter in this section referred to as the “Fund”), consisting of such amounts as may be appropriated to the Fund pursuant to the authorization contained in subsection (e). Amounts in the Fund shall be available for grants made by the Bank under the tied aid credit program established pursuant to subsection (b) and to reimburse the Bank for the amount equal to the concessionality level of any tied aid credits authorized by the Bank. Any export financing involving the use of a grant under the tied aid credit program shall be consistent with the procedures established by the Arrangement, as in effect at the time such financing is approved. There are authorized to be appropriated to the Fund such sums as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of this section. Such sums are authorized to remain available until expended. No action taken under this section shall be reviewable by any court, except for abuse of discretion. The Bank, in consultation with the Secretary, shall submit an annual report on tied aid credits to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Financial Services of the House of Representatives. Each report required under paragraph (1) shall contain a description of— all principal offers of tied aid credit financing by foreign countries during the previous 6-month period, including all offers notified by countries participating in the Arrangement, and in particular— To the extent the Bank determines any information required to be included in the report under this subsection should not be made public, such information may be submitted separately on a confidential basis or provided orally, rather than in written form, to the Chairmen and ranking minority Members of the Committees of the Senate and the House of Representatives with jurisdiction over the subject matter of the report. For purposes of this section, the following definitions shall apply: The terms “tied aid credit” and “partially untied aid credit” mean any credit which— is, in fact or in effect, tied to— The term “Secretary” means the Secretary of the Treasury. The term “Arrangement” means the Arrangement on Guidelines for Officially Supported Export Credits established through the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. The term “blended financing” means financing provided through any combination of official development assistance, official export credits, and private commercial credit which is integrated into a single agreement with a single set of financial terms. The term “parallel financing” means financing provided by any combination of official development assistance, official export credits, and private commercial credit which is not integrated into a single agreement and does not have a single set of financial terms. The term “offers grandfathered under the Arrangement” means— The Bank, in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury, shall define “market window” for purposes of this section.