The Export-Import Bank of the United States (US Exim) has approved two transactions backing domestic firm US Steel, as other US government agencies crack down on steel imports with new tariffs and tighter regulations.
In one transaction, US Exim has agreed to provide a 95% guarantee for a US$250mn working capital loan from PNC Bank in Pennsylvania to US Steel.
US Exim’s guarantee of the 11-month facility will allow the company to monetise a portion of the value of three existing iron-ore pellet supply contracts it has with buyers in North America and Asia.
The cover, which US Exim is providing as part of its working capital guarantee programme, will enable PNC Bank to accept the risk of the foreign contracts, while also helping US Steel to hold up its end of the supply agreements.
In the second deal, US Exim’s board approved a 95% guarantee of a US$200mn supply chain finance (SCF) facility provided to US Steel by LSQ Funding Group, a US-based working capital solutions provider, and Huntington National Bank (HNB).
US Exim’s guarantee of the 12-month facility will support the purchase of accounts receivable due from US Steel to at least 50 of its suppliers in the US, based in Washington DC and around 16 states.
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