WSJ: General Electric Says to Move 500 U.S. Jobs Overseas Blaming Ex-Im Bank Closure
General Electric Co. says Republicans in Congress “left us no choice” but to move 500 American jobs overseas. Their decision was prompted by Republicans’ shutdown of the Export-Import Bank earlier this summer. How many U.S. jobs have to be lost before the self-described “party of jobs” stops threatening our economic competiveness and reopens the Bank? From the Wall Street Journal:
“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.”
“GE said Tuesday it had signed an agreement for a line of credit for certain power projects from France’s export credit agency, Compagnie Française d’Assurance pour le Commerce Extérieur, or Coface, which would result in 400 jobs moving to Europe, primarily from facilities in New York, Texas, South Carolina and Maine.”
“It said another 100 jobs would be moved next year from a facility outside Houston to Hungary and China to access export credit for customers of gas turbines used in aviation.”
“Executives say that the company is bidding on $11 billion worth of projects, mostly in developing nations, and that bids won’t be entertained if they aren’t sponsored by an export credit agency. GE said, for example, that 80% of the gas turbines have been sold to countries where export credit agency sponsorship is required.”
“‘In a competitive world, we are left with no choice but to invest in non-U.S. manufacturing and move production to countries that support high-tech exports,’ said John Rice, vice chairman at GE, in a statement on Tuesday.”
“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 81-year-old agency stopped accepting new loans at the beginning of July after Congress allowed its charter to expire. In July, some 64 senators voted for an amendment to reopen the bank, but conservative Republicans who control key leadership positions have so far prevented a vote in the House of Representatives.”