The Republican Presidential candidate, Donald Trump had said earlier that India was “doing great”. But he seems to have turned tail. He has accused India and China of taking advantage of US generosity and promised to bring back jobs from those countries that belonged to Americans. He was obviously referring to the BPOs in India which employ a huge number of Indians. The whole business strategy started in the 1990s and is known as outsourcing. President Barack Obama went back on this policy saying that the cream of American jobs was being “Bangalored”. Trump is now going one better saying that he wants to bring the jobs back to outdo the Democrats. If the same argument was applied to industry and capital, there would have been an outcry in India against protectionism. But in the case of jobs, prices and profitability take a back seat.
It is true that the employment situation in the US is grim. That is especially true of African Americans. Statistics show that over 55% African-Americans are looking for jobs. President Obama has drawn up a recovery plan to protect American jobs. Trump is trying to cash in on the African American vote by attacking outsourcing to China and India. It would seem that Washington is going back to the Ohio statute. The Trump declaration may work both ways. Indians will get no American jobs. Walmart may not do business in China. Bangladesh may not make garments for the US. Pink slips will flow to Indians employed in Bangalore, Gurgaon and Delhi. Can Americans do the work which Indians have been doing by migrating the US business process to India?
