12 U.S.C. § 635r — Establishment of tied aid credit program administered by Trade and Development Agency

(a) Program and its elements. The Director of the Trade and Development Agency must carry out a tied-aid-credit program for United States exports. The program must be carried out with the Export-Import Bank of the United States and, when appropriate, private financial institutions or entities. The program may include— (1) combining the Bank’s credits, loans, or guarantees with concessional financing or grants made available under subsection (d). This may include blending the Bank’s and the Agency’s financing or having them provide parallel financing; and (2) combining concessional financing or grants made available under subsection (d) with financing offered by private financial institutions or entities. This may include blending the Agency’s and the private institutions’ or entities’ financing or having them provide parallel financing. (b) Combining funds with other financing. These funds may be combined with financing from the Export-Import Bank or with private commercial financing to offer or arrange financing for exporting United States goods and services. The financing must be substantially as concessional as foreign financing when there is reasonable proof that the foreign financing is being offered to, or arranged for, a genuine foreign competitor for a United States export sale. (c) Limits on Agency funds and a fund. (1) Funds used for a tied-aid-credit program authorized by subsections (a) and (b) may be offered only to finance United States exports that can reasonably be expected to advance the development goals of the importing country or countries. The exports must also be consistent with the economic, security, and political criteria used to set country allocations of Economic Support Funds. (2) The Director may establish a fund when necessary to carry out the tied-aid-credit financing program described in this section. (d) Economic Support Funds. Money available to carry out chapter 4 of part II of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 [22 U.S.C. 2346 et seq.] may be used by the Director, with the Secretary of State’s concurrence as provided in section 531 of that Act [22 U.S.C. 2346], for the purposes for which money under this subsection is authorized to be used in section 635q and this section. The Secretary of State must exercise this authority in cooperation with the Administrator of the Agency for International Development. Money made available under this subsection may finance a tied-aid-credit activity in any country eligible for tied-aid credits under this subchapter.