The 112th Congress faces a full agenda of international trade and finance issues. Early in 2011, the Obama Administration is expected to ask Congress to approve a free trade agreement (FTA) with South Korea and possibly FTAs with Colombia and Panama. The Administration is seeking to conclude the much larger ten year-old World Trade Organization's (WTO) Doha Round of multilateral trade negotiations, which, if completed, would also require congressional approval.

The Central American nation of Honduras, one of the hemisphere's poorest countries, faces significant challenges in the areas of crime, human rights, and improving overall economic and living conditions. While traditional agricultural exports of coffee and bananas are still important for the economy, nontraditional sectors, especially the maquiladora, or export-processing industry, have grown significantly over the past decade. Among the country's development challenges are a poverty rate over 70%, high infant mortality, and a significant HIV/AIDS epidemic.

The Export-Import Bank is the chief U.S. government agency that helps finance American exports.1 With a budget of nearly $1 billion, the Bank finances around 2% of U.S. exports a year. Eximbank provides guarantees and insurance to commercial banks to make trade credits available to U.S. exporters. The Bank also offers direct financing to U.S. exporters on a limited basis, primarily to counter subsidized trade credits offered to foreign exporters by their governments.