India wants to prevent US ban on outsourcing:- – World News – Webindia123.com — This is hilarious. I wonder how far they think they’d get with this BS. This would create an amazing backlash if the US media bothered covering it. I guess Lou Dobbs will be the only one, as usual.
India wants a new world trade pact that would prevent the United States and other countries from taking steps to ban companies from outsourcing jobs, said Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath.
Proposals in the U.S. Congress in recent years to ban outsourcing have sent off “alarm bells” in New Delhi, Kamal Nath, on a visit to the US, said in Washington today.
To prevent those from becoming law, India wants the United States, which is India’s largest client of BPO jobs, not to pursue legislation preventing companies to move jobs overseas.
Link found on the Job Destruction Newsletter where Rob Sanchez adds his comments below:
India has formally filed a complaint with the WTO to stop all U.S. legislation to limit outsourcing. They have also asked for more market access for foreign temporary workers. It’s not clear whether a deal has been made to India’s satisfaction because the WTO is being secretive about what is transpiring.
So far the U.S. probably hasn’t actually given the Indians what they want, but that doesn’t mean the U.S. trade representative isn’t willing to make a deal with them. It appears that the United States is willing to make major concessions to India as long as they allow our banks and financial institutions to set up shop in India. Whatever is decided you can bet that American workers will not have a voice and whatever agreement is made will be made in the best interests of the multi-national corporations that run the WTO.
I don’t understand what the fuss is all about. We all know that the US government will never pass a real law eliminating outsourcing. They might pass some law that pretends to do that, but it’ll be filled with so many loop-holes as to be worthless.
For any Indian readers out there, don’t lose any sleep. We’ll be shipping our jobs to you for a very long time.
Apologies to Kelly Services, but:
India – Staffing the World
I’m not surprised. And why is Lou Dobbs the only one that shows America what is going on? Hey US. Wake up!
Good that Dobbs is covering this, but his show is getting annoying. It seems to be all he talks about: immigration, outsourcing, free trade, immigration, outsourcing, free trade…
I wonder if the Indians will cooperate. Almost all of their banks are government run, but the prime minister probably wants to change this.
I agree, Lou needs to back off and thump some other tubs, like the deficit or the war or any number of continuing screw-ups that cost the taxpayers money. He’s numbing the audience with the one-note Jonny routine.
Still, at least the show has SOME bite unlike the rest.
> the multi-national corporations that run the WTO
This is irresponsible. Governments are parties to the WTO. The statement is only true to the extent that corporations control Washington and every other government around the world. There’s a case to be made, but those same politicians are also subject to the voters and public opinion.
A WTO decision doesn’t hold any weight that governments don’t give it. It’s like a set of golden handcuffs, we’re all giving up protectionism in order to get access to open markets in return. We can object to individual decisions of the WTO, but that puts at risk all the other concessions that other government have made to us.
Everyone sees lost jobs and the effects on individuals. In fact some might say it is all the public sees, compared to the benefits of free trade. Those WTO handcuffs and the disputes they create actually highlight the benefits of free trade, which are spread out among millions and billions of consumers, and the people who got a job created by that increasing activity. Money that doesn’t go into government coffers in the form of tariffs goes into the pockets of consumers and workers and businesses.
On the other hand, this Indian line of attack on our immigration laws is outrageous. If GATS really obliges us to change our immigration laws, and the WTO says so, then there will be a huge backlash against the WTO, India, and outsourcing that the politicians will not be able to ignore. It’s starting already.
It may not work itself out during this presidency, but it has to eventually. The public is too stupid to understand the complex give and take of globalization, and the politicians are too scared of their voters to explain and defend it to them.
T.C.
I hate to disagree, but I disagree.
The major international corporations run the WTO. Not directly, as that might sound, but they do. There is no western country that would purposefully offend or diss a major employer. These companies have too much economic clout to be toyed with. They are also the major financial contributors to most political parties. And when they suggest something to their government(s), rest assured that the governments will listen.
Free trade is not a two way street either. The Wal-Mart example illustrates this very well. Clothes, linen, shoes, toys, tableware, and many other items are no longer made in the U.S. Searching for the lowest cost; Wal-Mart has bought only from offshore sources for these and many other items. The people that used to make these products in America no longer have jobs. These jobless use up their benefits and become a drain on society. New jobs are not replacing the lost ones.
Offshore, very few of these new manufactures are giving their employees the same wages and benefits that Americans received. Too many receive less then $1 per hour, work in appalling conditions, under near slavery terms. There are either none or non-enforced labor and environment standards.
Another example, a Phoenix AZ company makes seatbelts. They closed down their U.S. facility and moved production to Taiwan and China. Now these seatbelts are used in school buses and child auto seats. The former workers were paid an average of $10 per hour and benefits. The Chinese workers get about $0.60 per hour, no benefits (other then government supplied), no enforced labor or environmental standards and no choice in their political leaders. Most of the American workers found jobs paying less then what they earned before. And the family that owns this company is one of the wealthiest in America.
So what are the benefits? Let’s count them up. The American worker doesn’t have a job or is paid less. Because of the reduced or lack of benefits, the American tax payer picks up more Medicare and welfare costs. The product costs less, but this American worker can’t afford to buy it. The foreign worker gets a job, but is paid a pittance. The foreign government receives little money because of tax agreements, corruption, and lower tax rates. The foreign worker doesn’t get paid enough to buy many durable goods. The foreign factory owner, the importer, and retailer are all getting rich.
The American economy has been strong and resilient enough that it could absorb much of this out sourcing in the past. I believe that the break even point is being reached though and there is not enough room for much more. Manufacturing and resource jobs create wealth. Service jobs only distributes wealth.
The WTO is only helping the few get richer and the multitudes get poorer.
Pat, if new jobs aren’t replacing the old ones, why does the total number of people employed keep increasing? Do you think the government is making up employment statistics?
if new jobs aren’t replacing the old ones, why does the total number of people employed keep increasing?
WTF?
Did we reach Zero Population Growth in the US, and I missed it??
If I lose my high-paying manufacturing job, and have to find two smaller-paycheck jobs to come close to my current standard of living – isn’t that a net increase in jobs?
Do the government’s statistics take into account that many people are working multiple jobs, or do they count each job as a unique “person” employed?
Is that an upside of off-shoring: two part-time jobs are created here, for every full-time job lost? 🙁
Jeez, I’m just full of rhetorical questions (among other things) today. 🙂
“Do you think the government is making up employment statistics? ”
Errr… Yes!
Most aware people figure the rate is closer to 12% plus under-employment effects.
And we do not have more jobs.
Check out the BLS stats back to 1999.
While you’re at it, check out population growth, including legal and illegal immigration.
And since you are now actually learning something, look at the historical stats for labor force participation.
With your spare time, read a little Paul Craig Roberts on the distribution
of all these new jobs the Gov. keeps braying about.
You’ll find that the great majority of these new jobs are low paying service jobs largely taken by immigrants, legal or otherwise.
This whole picture is only getting worse.
http://www.bls.gov/cps/ces_cps_trends.pdf Page 5
I see increases in both the payroll survey and the household survey. I’ve read Paul Craig Roberts’ columns. People were saying similar things when Clinton was getting reelected too. Steady reductions in the illegal immigrant population would help, but there doesn’t appear to be the disaster people are talking about.
AB CD,
Thanks for the link. 🙂
Hmmmm.
You might want to do a more careful analysis, AB.
In the past 5 years, our population has increased by about 15M.
Recent stats of pop./working ratios would suggest that
nearly half of those would need jobs.
Additionally, if you add in the uncounted 10+M illegal/legal
immigrants for the same period – who virtually all need jobs – and couple that with Paul Craig Roberts BLS monthly jobs reports data,
wherein 60-80% of new jobs are shown going to immigrants/illegal aliens, and toss in the several millions who lost jobs in the dotcom bust, you end up with
about 15-20M Americans sitting on their hands or clerking at Home Depot.
But I don’t think that most of us need to go through all of this education and analysis since the obvious truth surrounds us everywhere we go and every time we read yet another headline on the real estate bubble and how Americans are living on credit cards and home equity.
Bottomline: insourcing (H1B/L1), outsourcing to China and India and legal/illegal immigration are destroying the American Job Machine and the Middle Class and are beginning to wreck the Upper-Middle bracket as well.
Talk to some college grads or buddies in the trades.
Put together the numbers.
You seem like a thoughtful guy.
Check it out.
From my previous experience outsourcing tasks of your every day business to someone else is exactly like offering a job to another person. The variation is that he’s not close and probably the communication is not as healthy as a partner down the street. With that in mind you need from the other confidence, quality work and good prices. It’s a killer combination that is not very easy to achieve but if you are fortunate to achieve one of those stick with it.