Boeing 737 passenger cabin (Photo : Twitter)
Aircraft maker Boeing could join other companies in the U.S. that have moved their operations overseas. Its century of operating in the U.S. does not deter Boeing from transferring to other countries.
The stay of Boeing in the U.S. is hinged on Congress voting to the revive the Export-Import Bank which expired in June, Boeing Chairman James McNery said on Wednesday in a talk at the Economic Club of Washington. The bank's chartered lapsed on June 30 after Congress failed to renew its operating document required by federal law, reports Marketwatch.
However, the bank could still be revived after the Senate voted 64-29 on Monday to add an amendment on a highway bill. The dollars that the bank lends to other countries to purchase products made in the U.S. had benefitted Boeing, said McNery.
He accused both political parties, especially the GOP, of preventing the revival of the bank's charter from getting to a vote.
McNery points out, "Every time a Triple Seven lands in Beijing, it takes seven or eight thousand small businesses to Beijing ... None of these would have a chance to export without us."
Besides Boeing, the other major aircraft manufacturer is rival Airbus, but McNery sees a third maker coming from China. McNery stresses, "We love making and designing planes in the United States, but we are now forced to think about doing it differently."
For now, the move was just from Washington to Oklahoma City as Leanne Caret, Boeing president for Global Services & Support Defense, Space & Security, announced on Wednesday the transfer for its aircraft, modernization and sustainment business. He also said its headquarters would also move to Oklahoma from St. Louis.
The Oklahoma facility is spread on 290,000 square feet of land and is worth $80 million. With the move - due to tax credits offered by Gov. Mary Fallin - 120,000 Boeing employees would likewise migrate to Oklahoma from Washington.
