What's going on?

General Electric (GE) said it would move 1,500 American jobs overseas as a result of the US government�s failure to support exporters - and that might be just the beginning of the jobs exodus.

What does this mean?

Like most countries, the US government has a department (called the US Export-Import Bank) that lends money to foreign companies buying its exports. It also insures the delivery of those exports, so that foreigners don�t pre-pay for things only to find that they don�t arrive. Since July, the agency hasn�t been giving new loans and insurance because its authorization to operate expired. Republicans in Congress have blocked it from being reauthorized because they feel that it�s an unnecessary subsidy�to business. But since other countries still offer the service (lending money for and insuring exports), GE is just moving some production, and accompanying jobs, overseas.

Why should I care?

1. GE is a big beneficiary of the Export-Import Bank, so it�s clearly trying to make a political point by shifting jobs overseas and blaming it on the shutdown of the bank.
2. But it probably has a point: GE says it has $11billion of contracts that are reliant on government-backed export financing. Other companies, especially those in the aviation space (like Boeing), also heavily rely on the bank. A continued shutdown of the bank would be disruptive for US businesses and, probably, send more US jobs�overseas.