Better ways to boost manufacturing and jobs

President Trump seems torn between his promise to drain the swamp and his desire to juice American companies. There's a schism in his inner circle between conservatives and finance types.

Trump needs to ignore the pleadings of Wall Street and K Street and rein in corporate welfare as much as possible, for there are better ways of keeping his promise to promote domestic manufacturing.

So, what to do about the Export-Import Bank, a federal agency that subsidizes exporters by extending taxpayer-backed financing to foreign buyers of American goods? Conservatives have long blasted Ex-Im as corporate welfare, and during the campaign Trump, who called Ex-Im "feather-bedding" for a few companies, said it should be abolished.

Ex-Im is handicapped at present because conservatives in the Senate have blocked nominations to its board of directors, leaving it without a quorum. No quorum means no deals over $10 million, which upsets Boeing and General Electric, whose foreign buyers enjoy generous rates from U.S. taxpayers. Wall Street also misses these megadeals, because most Ex-Im transactions over $10 million are loan guarantees. A private bank gets the profit from its loan to a foreign company, while taxpayers bear the risk.

Which way will Trump go? Since Feb. 10, several lawmakers have told reporters he has privately committed to supporting Ex-Im and bringing it back to full strength, freeing up the $10 million, $100 million, or $1 billion dollar deals. Congressional sources indicate that inside the White House, Goldman Sachs alumnus Gary Cohn and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner are said to be working to bolster Ex-Im.