Export Development Canada supports Canadian exporters, and the Export-Import Bank of the United States supports US exporters. Neither one finances the other country's exporters. How each agency works, what each one requires, and how a Canadian exporter starts the conversation.
Applies in: across Canada
Export Development Canada and the Export-Import Bank of the United States have similar names, similar jobs, and opposite client lists. EDC is Canada's export credit agency. EXIM is the United States' export credit agency. Each one supports exporters from its own country. Neither one finances the other country's exporters. A Canadian company that approaches EXIM, or a US company that approaches EDC, is approaching the wrong agency, however similar the product names sound.
The confusion is understandable. Both agencies offer insurance against non-payment, guarantees that help a bank lend, and financing for larger deals. Both work with commercial banks rather than always lending directly. Both assess the deal, the buyer, and the exporter before they commit. The difference is not the product list. It is the country whose jobs, exports, and economic benefit the agency exists to support, and the content and shipping rules that follow from that mandate.
EDC describes itself as Canada's export credit agency, and its pages describe support for Canadian companies that export. Its solutions, as listed on its defence and security support page and repeated across its sector pages, fall into four groups. Direct lending to expand capacity, make strategic acquisitions, invest in new equipment or facilities, or bridge cash flow gaps tied to export contracts. Trade credit insurance to protect against non-payment and help exporters offer competitive terms to trusted foreign buyers. Working capital guarantees to increase access to operating lines, so companies can finance work in progress, purchase materials, ramp up production, and manage cash flow on global contracts. And market insights providing country risk information, global economic outlooks, and guides covering nearly 200 markets.
The insurance product is described in concrete terms on EDC's pages. On its Indigenous entrepreneurs page, EDC states that with EDC Credit Insurance, 90 percent of insured losses are covered if a customer does not pay, and that EDC can offer a financial institution a guarantee of repayment on money borrowed, making working capital easier to access. On its credit risk management page, EDC states that its credit insurance supports companies of all sizes, that exporters can insure select buyers in specific markets or a whole portfolio, and that Canadian banks recognize insured receivables as secure collateral, often supporting higher credit limits. Contract frustration insurance is described as covering up to 90 percent of eligible losses if a foreign buyer cancels a contract, including costs incurred before invoicing. Those percentages describe coverage of insured or eligible losses under a policy, not a guarantee that every loss is covered. The policy terms, the buyer list, and the coverage levels are subject to EDC assessment.
EDC also runs time-limited and targeted programs alongside its standing products. Its Trade Impact Program was launched in 2025 to help eligible exporters navigate trade disruption and market uncertainty, and EDC's tariff frequently asked questions page describes it as facilitating up to 5 billion dollars in additional financing, insurance, and working capital support, with more than 3 billion dollars deployed through 6,000 transactions helping more than 800 Canadian companies, plus a 700 million dollar envelope of direct financing. Those figures describe the program's scale as reported by EDC, not an entitlement for any single exporter. Eligibility is described in general terms, as Canadian exporters and companies that supply exporters, and businesses are directed to contact an EDC relationship manager to learn what support may be available. This guide does not state revenue thresholds, years-in-business rules, or deal-size minimums for EDC products, because those were not verified on EDC pages at the time of writing, and secondary listings disagreed on the thresholds for individual products. Ask EDC directly.
The starting point for a Canadian exporter is a conversation, not an application form. EDC's pages direct businesses to contact a relationship manager or call EDC, and its tariff page states that businesses concerned about cash flow, customer demand, supply chains, or international expansion should contact their EDC relationship manager to learn what support may be available. Bring the export contract, the buyer information, and the financial information the assessment will need. EDC assesses the deal and the buyer, and for smaller deals a financial partner may manage the buyer relationship with EDC support, while EDC works directly with the buyer on larger deals, according to secondary descriptions of its buyer financing route. The assessment, not the application, decides what is offered.
EXIM states its mission directly on its content policy page: to support US jobs through exports. To fulfil that mandate, it relies on US content as a proxy for support for US jobs, and it sets foreign content eligibility criteria and limits on the foreign content that may be included in a financing package. That single sentence explains most of the differences that follow.
Eligibility for EXIM financing requires goods and services in a US export contract to be shipped from the United States to a foreign buyer. Eligible goods and services are those produced or originated entirely in the United States, those containing US- or foreign-originated components, and those produced or originated entirely in a foreign country other than the buyer's country, subject to the content limits. The level of support for a medium- or long-term transaction will generally be the lesser of 85 percent of the value of all eligible goods and services in the export contract, or 100 percent of the US content, according to the same policy page. EXIM's support example page states the same rule as the lesser of 85 percent of the net contract price or 100 percent of the US content, with local cost support up to 40 or 50 percent of the net contract price depending on the policy in force.
For small businesses, EXIM describes export credit insurance and working capital loan guarantees as the main products, and it states eligibility in plain terms: at least one year in business, financial statements or tax returns, a D and B DUNS number, and products with greater than 50 percent US content, including labour and overhead but excluding mark-up. The working capital guarantee is described as a 90 percent loan guarantee, working through the exporter's lender, with funds usable for materials, equipment, supplies, labour, and other inputs to fulfil export orders, standby letters of credit serving as bid, performance, or payment guarantees, and finished products for export. EXIM states plainly that it does not replace a commercial bank. It works with the lender to provide the guarantee. Products are generally not available for exports to foreign militaries and defence-related industries, with some exceptions.
The content rule is the practical test for any US exporter considering EXIM. A product with mostly foreign content, a service performed mostly by workers outside the United States, or a shipment that does not leave from the United States will struggle to meet the test, whatever the contract value. Check the content policy for the product, calculate US content on the basis EXIM specifies, and confirm the treatment of foreign components and local costs before committing to a price that assumes EXIM support.
Both agencies insure against non-payment by foreign buyers. Both offer guarantees that help a commercial bank lend working capital. Both finance larger deals through loans and guarantees. Both assess the deal and the buyer, and both make final decisions subject to their own assessment. Both direct exporters to start with a conversation, with EDC through a relationship manager and EXIM through a consultation request and regional specialists.
The differences are structural. EDC serves Canadian exporters. EXIM serves US exporters. EDC's assessment turns on Canadian export activity and economic benefit to Canada. EXIM's assessment turns on US content, shipment from the United States, and support for US jobs, with a stated percentage test for small business products and a lesser-of formula for larger transactions. EDC describes coverage of insured losses at 90 percent for credit insurance and contract frustration insurance. EXIM describes a 90 percent working capital guarantee and an 85 percent or 100 percent of US content formula for larger deals. Those percentages describe different things, insurance coverage, a guarantee, and a financing limit, and they should not be compared as if they were the same number.
Fees, interest rates, and processing times were not verified on agency pages at the time of writing, and this guide does not quote them. Both agencies price support case by case, based on the buyer, the market, the term, and the risk. A fee quoted in a secondary article for one transaction does not describe the fee for another. Ask the agency and the bank for the pricing that applies to the specific deal.
If the exporter is Canadian, exporting Canadian goods or services, start with EDC. If the exporter is American, exporting US goods or services shipped from the United States, start with EXIM. If the company has operations in both countries, the question is which entity is exporting, from which country, with what content. A Canadian parent with a US subsidiary that exports US goods from the United States is a US exporter for that shipment, and EXIM's rules apply to it. A US parent with a Canadian subsidiary that exports Canadian goods from Canada is a Canadian exporter for that shipment, and EDC's rules apply to it. The shipment, not the head office, decides the agency.
Before either conversation, assemble the same file. The export contract or purchase order. The buyer's identity, location, and payment history. The goods or services, their origin, and their content breakdown. The amount, the term, and the payment terms offered to the buyer. The financial statements or tax returns the agency will ask for. And the name of the commercial bank, because much of the support in both systems works through a bank guarantee or insured receivables, and the bank will be part of the conversation from the start.
Do not promise a buyer EDC or EXIM support before the agency has assessed the deal. Both agencies describe their decisions as subject to assessment, and both assess the buyer and the market as well as the exporter. A financing promise made before that assessment is a promise the exporter may not be able to keep, and a price built on assumed support may need to be rebuilt if the support is declined or offered on different terms.
No, not as the exporter. EXIM's mission is to support US jobs through exports, and its eligibility rules require goods and services in a US export contract to be shipped from the United States to a foreign buyer. A Canadian company exporting Canadian goods from Canada is not a US exporter under those rules. A Canadian company with a US subsidiary that exports US goods from the United States may be in a different position, but that is a US export by a US entity, and the US content and shipping rules still apply. A Canadian exporter should start with EDC, not with EXIM.
No, not as the exporter. EDC is Canada's export credit agency, and it supports Canadian exporters and companies that supply exporters. Its pages describe support for Canadian companies, Canadian exporters, and Canadian cleantech companies, with decisions subject to EDC assessment and economic benefit to Canada. A US company exporting US goods from the United States should start with EXIM. A US buyer of Canadian goods is in a different position: EDC buyer financing can finance the foreign buyer of a Canadian export, so the buyer benefits from EDC support without being the exporter.
Three kinds of help, described on EDC's own pages. Direct lending to expand capacity, make acquisitions, invest in equipment or facilities, or bridge cash flow gaps tied to export contracts. Trade credit insurance to protect against non-payment and help the exporter offer competitive terms to foreign buyers, with EDC describing 90 percent coverage of insured losses if a customer does not pay, on its Indigenous entrepreneurs page. And working capital guarantees to increase access to operating lines, so the exporter can finance work in progress, buy materials, ramp up production, and manage cash flow on global contracts. EDC also provides market insights covering nearly 200 markets. Final decisions are subject to EDC assessment.
Export credit insurance, working capital loan guarantees through the exporter's bank, and medium- and long-term loans and guarantees for larger export contracts. EXIM describes its working capital guarantee as a 90 percent loan guarantee that backs the debt and protects the lender from non-payment, with funds usable for materials, equipment, supplies, labour, and other inputs to fulfil export orders, standby letters of credit, and finished products for export. For medium- and long-term transactions, EXIM states that the level of support will generally be the lesser of 85 percent of the value of all eligible goods and services in the export contract, or 100 percent of the US content. The goods must be shipped from the United States to a foreign buyer.
EXIM uses US content as the proxy for support for US jobs. Its content policy requires goods and services to be shipped from the United States, and it limits the foreign content that can be included in a financing package. For small business export credit insurance and working capital guarantees, EXIM describes eligibility as exporting products with greater than 50 percent US content, including labour and overhead but excluding mark-up, alongside at least one year in business, financial statements or tax returns, and a D and B DUNS number. A product assembled in the United States from mostly foreign parts, or a service performed mostly outside the United States, may not meet the content test. Check the content policy for the specific product before pricing a deal around EXIM support.
EDC does not publish a single percentage content test in the terms described on the pages checked for this guide, and this guide does not invent one. EDC's pages describe support for Canadian exporters, assessment of the deal and the buyer, and economic benefit to Canada, with final decisions subject to EDC assessment. The practical equivalent of the content question for a Canadian exporter is whether the activity is a Canadian export, whether the company is a Canadian exporter or a supplier to one, and whether the deal brings economic benefit to Canada. Ask EDC or your bank how your specific goods, services, and supply chain are treated, and do not assume a US content percentage applies to an EDC application.
Where a figure could not be verified on an agency page at the time of writing — EDC revenue thresholds, years-in-business rules, and deal-size minimums for individual products, and EXIM fees, interest rates, and processing times — this guide says so and points to the agency instead of carrying a secondary listing's figure. Secondary listings disagreed on EDC product thresholds, so those figures were cut. This guide gives no financial advice. Confirm eligibility, content treatment, and pricing with EDC or EXIM and with your bank before committing to a deal.