General Electric Co. will move around 500 U.S. jobs overseas to avoid losing business to foreign rivals, a decision the company said was prompted by the lapse of the U.S. Export-Import Bank earlier this summer.
For months, GE has said that the failure to reauthorize the export financing agency, which congressional Republicans have singled out as an example of corporate welfare, would force the company to move jobs overseas or risk losing contracts for turbines, power projects and other industrial equipment.
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Thousands of jobs will follow. The US Ex-Im Bank has never lost money for taxpayers.
The Export-Import Bank requires the vast majority of production and jobs for deals that it finances to be located in the U.S., and most other export credit agencies have similar requirements.
Mr. Rice said that the company had “done everything in our power to avoid making these moves at all, but Congress left us no choice when it failed to reauthorize the Ex-Im Bank this summer.”
The Tea Party contingent won this fight against Boehner and McConnell this summer.
The Ex-Im Bank was established in 1934 via Executive order by President Roosevelt. Business groups, Senate Democrats, and President Obama all supported reauthorization of the federal loan agency.
Supporters say that the bank is especially focused on trying to help small and medium size businesses expand their exporting capabilities. CEO and President of the National Association of Manufacturers, Jay Timmons stated: "The Ex-Im Bank plays a critical role in manufacturer's ability to export to new markets and keep up with growing global competition. The Bank supports nearly 290,000 export related jobs and each year is helping more and more small and medium-sized manufacturers grow their businesses and hire new workers. More than 85% of all Ex-Im transactions directly benefit small business exporters—the economic engine that powers our economy and job creation."
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