The Export-Import Bank of the United States has approved a $97.2 million, two year working capital loan to support exports of business jet aircraft manufactured by Embraer Executive Aircraft in Melbourne, Florida. The loan is estimated to support $200 million worth of EEA's executive aircraft exports and 700 aerospace jobs at the its manufacturing facility in Melbourne and its suppliers across the United States.

The agreement is an extension of EXIM's working capital loan approved in July 2020 and maximises EXIM's COVID-19 relief measures.

COVID-19 pandemic-related travel restrictions has prevented EEA's foreign buyers from travelling to the United States to take delivery of their aircraft and complete payments, which has affected EEA's revenue. The EXIM-backed loan will help EEA meet its working capital needs during the two-year term of the agreement.

“This transaction demonstrates that EXIM can step in to make a critical difference for U.S. exporters and the workers that have been adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic,” says acting president and chairman James Burrows. “The pandemic has affected the liquidity of commercial lenders and their ability to make new loans, which has, in turn, hit the aircraft and aviation industries particularly hard.”

EEA's manufacturing facility is on the north side of Florida's Melbourne International Airport and has approximately 2,000 U.S. employees. Its business jet portfolio consists of the entry-level Phenom 100EV, the light Phenom 300E, the midsize Praetor 500 and the super-midsize Praetor 600.