December 30, 2023

Building up the country's export potential is one of the priority directions of foreign economic policy of any state. It allows the state to integrate into the international economic space, solve the issues of employment and increase foreign exchange earnings.

In the world practice, the instruments of export stimulation and financial protection of exporters through a specialized state institution - the Export Credit Agency (ECA) - are used quite successfully. It provides exporters with a wide range of services, including insurance of export credits, financing foreign trade operations, insurance of private investments abroad, etc.

The state system of export support through ECAs emerged after World War I in order to overcome the post-war economic crisis. The pioneer in this area was Great Britain, which in 1919 created the first ECA in the world - "Export Credit Guarantee Department" - which was focused on supporting exports of British manufacturers to 10 countries - possessions of the British Empire. Later, the example of Great Britain was followed by other economically large countries of the world, including Belgium, Denmark, Germany, USA and others.

Currently, there are 115 ECAs in the world, whose activities have a huge impact on international trade. At the end of 2022, the total amount of official medium- and long-term export financing by ECAs amounted to about 180 bln. USD (170 bln. USD in 2021).