05-13-2005, 02:45 AM
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/article...~feels~the~heat
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->BPO under fire, India feels heat
INDRANI BAGCHI
TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ THURSDAY, MAY 12, 2005 12:14:14 AM ]
Sign into earnIndiatimes points
NEW DELHI: If you thought outsourcing had disappeared from the American firmament after George Bush returned to White House, think again. Outsourcing or offshoring is back, and how. And India remains the favourite target.
Just in the first three months of 2005, over 112 anti-outsourcing bills are coursing their way through some 40 states in the US. In 2004, there were 107 bills in 33 states, of which only five became law, says the National Foundation for American Policy (NFAP) in a new study.
What is the reason for the quantum jump in protectionist legislation in the US and what is India doing about it?
Well, 2006 is election year for the US Congress, and whatever else you may say about the state of the US economy, you don't need to read Thomas Friedman's book on globalization to see that it's increasingly getting to be a bijli-sadak-paani issue in heartland America. Heightened concerns about jobs being snatched away by cheaper markets in the run-up to the elections is therefore, natural. For politicians to cash in on this is par for the course.
The NFAP study lists several bills of concern - a New Jersey bill, which prohibits state contract work from being performed overseas; bills in Oklahoma and Mississippi about call centers outside the US; Montana bill keeping state work in the US; Washington bill putting checks on outside contracts and a Maryland bill prohibiting the federal government from binding the state to international agreements.
Most of these bills will fall by the wayside, and some may violate the US' international trade obligations, so will be non-starters. But the fact remains that over the next year and half, the outsourcing clamour could intrude into bilateral ties.
The Indian government has sensibly stayed out of the debate and left it to India inc to tackle, which it is doing with increasing sophistication. The strategy is simple - educate American people, politicians, lawmakers and companies that outsourcing is "good for America." Whittling away at the opposition, Indian industry groups like Nasscom have engaged one of the US' top lobbying firms, Hill & Knowlton to put India's message across. In this, they have been helped by no less than US Chamber of Commerce and IT Association of America.
Indian companies are tackling robustly next generation issues like data privacy and security, pet peeve of high profile US senators like Hilary Clinton, who is piloting her own anti-outsourcing bill. And think-tanks like NFAP are spreading the good word about outsourcing. The study concludes that ultimately bills like these send negative signals to international companies wanting to invest in the US and "not welcome" signs rarely attract business.
The world may be flat, but it is taking a lot of elbow grease to go around<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->BPO under fire, India feels heat
INDRANI BAGCHI
TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ THURSDAY, MAY 12, 2005 12:14:14 AM ]
Sign into earnIndiatimes points
NEW DELHI: If you thought outsourcing had disappeared from the American firmament after George Bush returned to White House, think again. Outsourcing or offshoring is back, and how. And India remains the favourite target.
Just in the first three months of 2005, over 112 anti-outsourcing bills are coursing their way through some 40 states in the US. In 2004, there were 107 bills in 33 states, of which only five became law, says the National Foundation for American Policy (NFAP) in a new study.
What is the reason for the quantum jump in protectionist legislation in the US and what is India doing about it?
Well, 2006 is election year for the US Congress, and whatever else you may say about the state of the US economy, you don't need to read Thomas Friedman's book on globalization to see that it's increasingly getting to be a bijli-sadak-paani issue in heartland America. Heightened concerns about jobs being snatched away by cheaper markets in the run-up to the elections is therefore, natural. For politicians to cash in on this is par for the course.
The NFAP study lists several bills of concern - a New Jersey bill, which prohibits state contract work from being performed overseas; bills in Oklahoma and Mississippi about call centers outside the US; Montana bill keeping state work in the US; Washington bill putting checks on outside contracts and a Maryland bill prohibiting the federal government from binding the state to international agreements.
Most of these bills will fall by the wayside, and some may violate the US' international trade obligations, so will be non-starters. But the fact remains that over the next year and half, the outsourcing clamour could intrude into bilateral ties.
The Indian government has sensibly stayed out of the debate and left it to India inc to tackle, which it is doing with increasing sophistication. The strategy is simple - educate American people, politicians, lawmakers and companies that outsourcing is "good for America." Whittling away at the opposition, Indian industry groups like Nasscom have engaged one of the US' top lobbying firms, Hill & Knowlton to put India's message across. In this, they have been helped by no less than US Chamber of Commerce and IT Association of America.
Indian companies are tackling robustly next generation issues like data privacy and security, pet peeve of high profile US senators like Hilary Clinton, who is piloting her own anti-outsourcing bill. And think-tanks like NFAP are spreading the good word about outsourcing. The study concludes that ultimately bills like these send negative signals to international companies wanting to invest in the US and "not welcome" signs rarely attract business.
The world may be flat, but it is taking a lot of elbow grease to go around<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->