The iconic Bassetts Ice Cream in Reading Terminal Market, the oldest ice cream shop in America, has been expanding across Asia with the help of a little-known federal agency that makes international trade less risky, writes Kristen Mosbrucker-Garza for WHYY.

Bassetts Ice Cream was the first business to sign a lease at Reading Terminal Market in 1892. To this day, it continues to whip up delicious confections made from milk sourced directly from Pennsylvania dairy farmers.

The company started selling its products in Asia 15 years ago, when federal officials from the U.S. Export-Import Bank approached the owners. The agency insures American businesses against business deal losses on export transactions.

“Businesses that export are doing better, employing more people, are more resilient, and have the ability to pivot during very difficult and challenging times,” said Reta Jo Lewis, president of EXIM Bank. “The way the export credit insurance works is to guard against the actual risk of non-payment.”

The agency has insured $6 million of international shipments of Bassetts Ice Cream since 2009. As a result, its international sales now account for over 20 percent of the ice cream company’s annual revenue.

Read more about Bassetts Ice Cream and the impact of its exports to Asia in WHYY.

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