26. Trade · Major · Needs Congress · Contested — excluded from counts
Let the Export–Import Bank's charter expire at the end of 2026
Printed page 814 26. Trade · from “The Case for Free Trade”
“EXIM’s charter expires at the end of 2026. The agency will close automatically unless Congress and the President decide to extend it. Closing EXIM should be one of the next Administration’s easiest decisions.”
What has happened
- Not started
The date the Quote turns on has not arrived. 12 U.S.C. 635f still terminates the Bank's functions "at the close of business on December 31, 2026", and the Law Revision Counsel's text current through 2026-08-26 shows the last amendment as Pub. L. 116-94 (2019) — Congress has neither extended the charter nor let it lapse. The 119th Congress has enacted 104 public laws, none touching the Bank's authority. Movement in Congress runs the other way: S. 3772, the Export-Import Bank Reauthorization Act of 2026 (introduced 2026-02-04), would strike "2026" and insert "2036", and it is still in the Senate Banking Committee. Meanwhile EXIM continues to make new long-term commitments — the most recent Federal Register notices are dated 2026-08-24 — and to add capacity.
No action found yet. This entry is the starting point, not a finding.
Research log
What was searched, and what didn’t count as evidence
Research notes
- This is a Contested Recommendation, from Chapter 26’s “The Case for Free Trade”. It is a distinct ask from #2100 (“Close the Export–Import Bank”) in the same essay and from #2005 (“The Bank should be abolished”, Chapter 23): a charter that lapses by operation of 12 U.S.C. 635f is not the same event as a bank closed by statute or administrative action. The three share a source record; the overlap is flagged for the consistency pass (ticket 12).
- The ask is one of the few in the Mandate whose outcome is fixed by a future date. As long as 2026-12-31 is ahead of us and no extension has been enacted, the ask is neither achieved nor defeated. not started rather than attempted, because letting a charter lapse requires Congress to do nothing and there is no positive step to record; if Congress enacts S. 3772 or a rider extending the charter, this becomes a permanent not started with the contrary law named, and if 2026-12-31 passes without one, it becomes done.
- Primary sources loaded this session:
- 12 U.S.C. 635f, “Termination date of Bank’s functions; exceptions; liquidation”, text current through 2026-08-26 — https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title12-section635f&num=0&edition=prelim and the 2024 edition at https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2024-title12/html/USCODE-2024-title12-chap6A-subchapI-sec635f.htm
- S. 3772, Export-Import Bank Reauthorization Act of 2026, introduced 2026-02-04, read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs — https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/BILLS-119s3772/html/BILLS-119s3772.htm
- EXIM Federal Register notice of a final commitment for a long-term loan or guarantee over $100 million, 2026-08-24 — https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/08/24/2026-17194/application-for-final-commitment-for-a-long-term-loan-or-financial-guarantee-in-excess-of-100
- The Bank’s own statements on its future were not found on an allowlisted page; the exim.gov press index (https://www.exim.gov/news) carries no charter or reauthorization release as of 2026-08-27.
- Action
- abolish
- Object
- Export–Import Bank charter
- ID
- 2121