In The News

A Tale of Two Cities

Kerry A. Dolan March 29, 2004
Forbes magazine compares the stories of a dozen Americans laid off in Silicon Valley because of offshoring to those of their Indian counterparts who gained some of those jobs in Bangalore, India's offshoring hotspot. Before losing their jobs, American workers in the technology industry were going about their usual business –taking home plump checks, closing on a condo, and generally enjoying...

Kerry's Solution to Offshoring

Sam Zuckerman March 27, 2004
Under the US tax system, companies that produce goods abroad wait until the capital reenters the country to pay taxes. According to Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry, this "tax holiday" structure has led to an increase in foreign investment at the expense of domestic business. In an effort to rebuild domestic industry and bring back jobs, Senator Kerry has proposed to...

An Outsourcing Giant Fights Back

Saritha Rai March 21, 2004
Azim Premji, the founder of one of India’s leading technology giant Wipro, has found himself on the defensive of late. Premji's business is one of the leading outsourcing concerns in the world, with a net worth of $8 billion and clients from the top layer of their industries. As the domestic debates in America over job loss and outsourcing grow, . Premji has come to symbolize exactly...

With Mexico FTA Set, Japan Turns Toward Asia

Mayumi Negishi March 12, 2004
After completing only its second Free Trade Agreement (FTA) ever, Japan is looking towards Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, and South Korea for new prospective partners. The newly-inked Mexico FTA will provide much-needed agricultural imports to a country that imports 60% of its food stuff; however, it took some work to overcome the voices of the powerful Japanese agricultural lobby. With...

Laissez Unfaire

Arindam Mukherjee March 11, 2004
Globally, the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) is very much in vogue, but India is rethinking its rush to keep up with trends. At present, there are some 250 FTAS globally, a figure that is likely to increase dramatically in the near future. India has made many strides in this area, signing, or committing to sign, various multilateral as well as bilateral agreements. Currently, it is in the process...

What Goes Around…

Thomas L. Friedman February 26, 2004
New York Times Columnist Thomas Friedman argues that while outsourcing may relocate American jobs to low-cost countries, it also creates jobs by stimulating export demand for American products. "Look around this office," an Indian call center owner remarked to Friedman, "All the computers are from Compaq. The basic software is from Microsoft. The phones are from Lucent. The air-...

Trade Is Not Bad For US Jobs

Martin Wolf February 24, 2004
Financial Times Senior Economist Martin Wolf defends outsourcing as a means for companies to improve productivity, just as free trade benefits businesses by giving them access to cheaper goods from the developing world. He argues that the only reason politicians are railing against free trade, instead of praising gains from innovation and productivity, is because they can use foreigners as...