New CEI Paper: The Case for Closing OPIC

OPIC is the Overseas Private Investment Corporation. It is a federal agency that offers financing for international projects by U.S. companies. Intended mainly as an economic development tool for developing countries, OPIC is also a way to give assistance to U.S. companies, and serves as a foreign policy tool for the federal government. In recent years, OPIC has also been captured by renewable energy interests, who now receive roughly 40 percent of its business.

OPIC’s charter expires on September 30, unless Congress renews it—in this way, its business model is similar to the now-expired Export Import Bank, which also has charters of finite length. In a new CEI paper, released today, I outline the case for closing OPIC in more detail:

Only about 5 percent of OPIC’s business goes to countries deemed as among the least developed by the United Nations. OPIC overwhelmingly works with big businesses, with a literal top 10 list of its beneficiaries capturing nearly 90 percent of its business in some years. The jobs OPIC supports come at a cost of nearly $329,000 each. The agency’s political risk insurance    program encourages bad behavior by predatory governments around the globe. More than 40 percent of OPIC’s business goes to a single industry—renewable energy—known more for its   political acumen than creating consumer value.

Read the whole paper here. If you prefer a one-page version, see the press release.