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News article3 April 2023BrusselsDirectorate-General for Trade

OECD members agree to EU initiative to modernise export credits

On 31 March, OECD countries reached an agreement in principle on an EU initiative to modernise export credit rules to better support the green transition.

The deal to update the Arrangement on Officially Supported Export Credits will provide streamlined terms and conditions so that government-backed export finance can better meet the needs of exporters in an increasingly competitive landscape, while avoiding market distortions. At the same time, the outcome widens the scope of green and climate-friendly transactions benefitting from extra incentives in the form of more flexible financial terms and conditions.

The agreement foresees an expansion of the scope of green or climate-friendly projects eligible for longer repayment terms (i.e. eligible under the 'Climate Change Sector Understanding' or CCSU). These would include projects related to environmentally sustainable energy production; CO2 capture, storage, and transportation; transmission, distribution and storage of energy; clean hydrogen and ammonia; low emissions manufacturing; zero and low-emission transport; and clean energy minerals and ores. 

The financial terms are to be amended in several ways. The maximum repayment term will be increased from 18 to up to 22 years for climate-friendly and green transactions and from 8.5 and 10 years to up to 15 years for most other projects. Moreover, the minimum premium rates that export credit agencies are obliged to charge for their insurance cover will be reduced for longer repayment periods. Finally, further flexibilities regarding the schedule of repayments over the life of the financial package provided will be introduced.  

Next steps

This reform is expected to come into effect later this year, once the participants complete their formal internal decision-making processes and agree to the new Arrangement text. The Participants to the Arrangement are the EU, Australia, Canada, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, Norway, Switzerland, Türkiye, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Background

In June 2019, the EU initiated the modernisation and put a first broad proposal on the table at the OECD, following which the Participants agreed to modernise the Arrangement in 2020. Today’s announcement is thus the culmination of more than two years of negotiations. The modernisation was needed because the financial terms of the Arrangement were outdated and were no longer adapted to market needs in a changing, global financial landscape.

The main purpose of the Arrangement on Officially Supported Export Credits is to provide a framework for the orderly use of officially supported export credits by fostering a level playing field to encourage competition among exporters. This would be based on quality and prices of goods and services exported rather than on the most favourable officially supported financing package.

Governments provide officially supported export credits through Export Credit Agencies (ECAs) in support of national exporters. Such support takes the form of either 'official financing support' or 'pure cover support', such as export credit insurance or guarantee cover.

For more information

Participants’ statement

OECD Export Credits page

Details

Publication date
3 April 2023
Author
Directorate-General for Trade
Location
Brussels
Trade topics
Sustainable developmentTrade policy