Outsourcing curb to dampen WTO talks

NEW DELH: India told United States Trade Representative Robert Zoellick, that a U.S. Senate bill which seeks to curb the export of U.S. jobs could hamper Indian support for world trade talks.

Indian Commerce Minister Arun Jaitley, who held an hour-long meeting with Zoellick, said the bill to limit the outsourcing, or shifting overseas, of U.S. government work was leading to disaffection with free trade discussions.

"As far as India's viewpoint is concerned, we conveyed our concerns over moves to restrict outsourcing," Jaitley told reporters.

"We also told them an adverse environment is being created for (WTO) talks with moves to close down markets which were open and then talk of opening other markets. Accepting this would be difficult for the public as well as the government," he added.

The loss of jobs overseas has become a hot topic in the United States, and Indians fear other measures that could hit the rapidly growing software industry and a related sector that runs call centers and performs back-office work remotely using high-speed telecom links.

Many multinational companies are moving operations to India while others are establishing new businesses there, creating jobs and an investment boom in the world's second most populous nation.

This has led to a wave of protest in several developed nations as trade unions fear massive jobs loss to developing countries such as India and China.

© Reuters