Get set to jet set to Uncle Sam

The Times of India ^ | August 6, 2004 | PRIYA RANJAN DASH

[neutrino]

Get set to jet set to Uncle Sam
PRIYA RANJAN DASH

TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ FRIDAY, AUGUST 06, 2004 12:03:18 AM ]

NEW DELHI: India seems to have finally acquired some trade chutzpah. It is all set to offer a free trade agreement on services to the champion of free trade, the US.
 

The offer has already been discussed between prime minister Manmohan Singh and commerce minister Kamal Nath and will be brought to the cabinet shortly.

New Delhi feels the FTA deal would be a win-win for both the countries.

While American banks and insurance companies can open as many branches as they wish in India, get into travel, hospitality, telecom and other service industries, Indian companies can render unhindered services in the US to American companies.

Moreover, Indian professionals like software engineers, accountants and doctors can take up jobs in America without worrying about H1B quotas.
 

Indeed, if the deal materialises, it could open the door to the vast US market for India's large pool of service professionals, particularly in the IT and health sectors, and boost business process outsourcing from the US to India.
 

The quid pro quo would be that the US businesses would have the freedom to operate in the growing Indian market in financial services, banking, insurance, telecom and in retail trade. New Delhi would have to roll back the existing licensing and investment restrictions for US companies.

Commerce minister Kamal Nath confirmed the move towards an Indo-US FTA, exclusively for services. He told The Times of India that the India-US Joint Business Council has already done some preliminary work on the proposal. “We are working on it. If there is progress, I will take it to the Cabinet for an in-principle clearance,” he said.

The start of the bilateral FTA negotiations, however, seems unlikely before the November presidential election in the US, trade analysts said.

Thereafter, much would depend on the policies of the administration that takes charge in January next.

As of now, there is little clarity about the trade policies the US would pursue in case the Democrats win the election. John Kerry, who is seen backing the backlash against outsourcing to India, has been ambivalent about free trade.

If the US administration is lukewarm to India's suggestion, it would, however, show up the US as being double-faced on free trade issues.

So, while at best there is considerable gain for Indian companies and professionals if Washington plays ball, at worst New Delhi would be scoring a telling political point.

[neutrino]

If you thought the employment picture in the U.S. had problems before, you haven't seen anything yet.

Free traitors, the people of America will curse you. And, you'll deserve it.

[neutrino]

Get ready to see wages in the U.S. take a substantial dip. If India gets unrestricted access to our job market - as they seek to do, per the article - our wages will decline as their massive supply of cheap labor invades what was once our country.

No doubt free traitors will run about squawking about lower prices to consumers; but for every dime the consumer saves, they'll lose hundreds of dollars of income due to the devastation of our domestic labor market.

Make no mistake, consumers will pay a heavy price. We'll see more bankruptcies, lower income, more people losing their health insurance, and greater pressure on public services of every sort.

Congratulations, free traitors! Your victory is within your grasp! You may well accomplish your goal of destroying America. Happy?

If you want on or off my offshoring ping list, please FReepmail me!

[Sam the Sham]

Not to mention the collapse of the housing market (which is the lion's share of most Americans' net worth) from all those bankruptcies and foreclosures.

Good for India. Bad for average Joe.

[PersonalLiberties]

So banks can open branches in India (more than likely employing Indians) and Indians can come here and take jobs too. Sounds more like a win for India.

[meadsjn]

Where does government plan to get its revenue? Income tax revenue is already on the downward slope and will drop more steeply as wages continue to be depressed below the taxable level.

Even if the government shifts to a sales tax, people without money won't be shopping, at least not for new products. Indians and Chinese won't be buying American products or shopping in America.

It looks like the US consumers and workers are just about bled dry, and the business and government parasites are ready to move on to another host population to feed upon.

[neutrino]

It looks like the US consumers and workers are just about bled dry, and the business and government parasites are ready to move on to another host population to feed upon.

I agree with your analysis. It's too bad that Americans are being badly betrayed by the very people we trusted as leaders.

[Euro-American Scum]

So, while at best there is considerable gain for Indian companies and professionals if Washington plays ball, at worst New Delhi would be scoring a telling political point.

This just in. . .

India threatens to withold all engineering infrastructure support and suspend the manufacture of smart weapons unless the U.S. withdraws from Iraq and unilaterally disarms.

[neutrino]

India threatens to withold all engineering infrastructure support and suspend the manufacture of smart weapons unless the U.S. withdraws from Iraq and unilaterally disarms.

Exactly! And when we put our banks and other businesses over there, they can easily seize them.

[Euro-American Scum]

Exactly! And when we put our banks and other businesses over there, they can easily seize them.

Special bulletin. . .

President Kerry currently enters negotiations with the French for the presence of U.N. peacekeepers in the U.S. to quell riots due to massive domestic unemployment brought about by new free trade agreement.

The Second Amendment is hereby abolished. All privately held firearms are ordered confiscated by Indian paramilitary units in the U.S. to assist police in eliminating domestic unrest.

[snowsislander]

The earliest reference to proposing a U.S.-India FTA that I can find is one from Harvard.

I didn't know this until I did a google search on the terms "India FTA", but India has gone FTA-happy: they have an FTA that will commence with Thailand in September of this year; they are officially studying one with China as of March of this year; one in the works with South Africa; one with ASEAN; Singapore... it certainly doesn't look they are exactly picky about all of this.

[PersonalLiberties]

The US is not exactly picky either (hence China).

[PersonalLiberties]

"Indians and Chinese won't be buying American products or shopping in America"

There is no America at least as far as multinational corps think.

American consumer market has reached a saturation point (according to one theory) for new items and now is a replacement market only. So, mutlinational corps. are looking to the world for the new consumers in the population rich countries, China, South America, India. But before they can be consumers they need jobs, and so the cycle goes.

[A. Pole]

[from the picture:] FTA could allow Indian service professionals in IT and health to gain unrestricted access to US market. [...] Professionals may take up jobs in US without visa hassles.
[...]
The start of the bilateral FTA negotiations, however, seems unlikely before the November presidential election in the US, trade analysts said.

Free trade bump!

[Shermy]

Sounds more like a win for India.

Naturally. They aren't stupid.

[Havoc]

Oh brother. I think I'm gonna be sick. Anyone got a stopwatch going for the first free traitor to show up and tell us how good this is for us.

[hedgetrimmer]

Rich Templeton, right, President and CEO of Texas Instruments (TI) and Biswadeep Moitra, left, Managing Director, TI India attend the inauguration of its new campus in Bangalore, India, Friday, Aug. 6, 2004. TI is a leading provider of Digital Signal Processor and analog technologies. (AP Photo/Gautam Singh)



Henning Kagermann, second right, chairman of the Executive Board of SAP AG and CEO, Martin Prinz, second left, joint managing director of SAP Labs India, Dr. Peter Zencke, a member of the Executive Board of SAP AG, and Clas Neumann, right, joint managing director of SAP Labs India, participate in a traditional ritual at the foundation stone laying ceremony for SAP's development in Bangalore, India, Tuesday, Aug. 3, 2004. SAP AG, the world's largest business software company will invest 20 million euros (US$24 million) and hire 1,900 software programmers in India by end 2006. (AP Photo/Gautam Singh)

[hedgetrimmer]

Indo-US FTA may be win-win deal
PRIYA RANJAN DASH

TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ THURSDAY, AUGUST 05, 2004 05:33:10 AM ]

NEW DELHI: Businessmen on both sides are convinced that there are strong complimentaries between the US and India in the services sector and a FTA would be a win-win deal. The services sector contributes approximately 51% to Indias GDP and for the US, the sectors contribution is 72%.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/804576.cms

**
The service sector is 72% of the United States GDP?

If that is true, and now much of the service sector work will be outsource, what will happen to our economy?

[PersonalLiberties]

hedgetrimmer ask not what the multinational corp can do for you but what can you do for the multinational :-) Since we are not able to buy enough and our population is not as big as India, China, etc. The plan is to creat the new consumers there.

[PersonalLiberties]

but what are you saying about us

[Shermy]

but what are you saying about us

Some are stupid.

Some can't understand the complexities of trade and trade barriers.

Most are influenced by lobbies and their spokespeople who have an interest in maximizing short-term profits, primarily by depressing the "cost" of labor. Usually this is clothed in the verbiage of "free trade." For them, "free trade" is a barrier-less US without any concern of foreign barriers. The fact that "labor" won't be able to purchase much in the future is not much a concern for them.

Indians, Chinese, even the EU think in the long term. ANd they understand America, study it closely. They know the "banks" and financial services industries are powerful domestic forces, with the Repubs, even more so with the Demos. That's why this Indian is appealing to those interests.