Obama Supports Strategic Ties With India, Not Outsourcing

[OhioChick]

Thu Nov 13, 2008

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. President-elect Barack Obama is a solid supporter of the growing Indo-U.S. strategic partnership and backs the landmark bilateral nuclear deal, but has strong views about outsourcing of U.S. jobs overseas, a cause of concern for Indian businesses.
Obama is said to have a close affinity with things Indian. He carries a miniature figure of Lord Hanuman for luck and had a picture of Mahatma Gandhi placed in his Senate office.

In a message of India’s 62nd Independence Day, Obama had said Gandhi’s active role in India’s independence movement has “inspired generations of young people around the world to pursue freedom in their own countries.”

“As freedom faces challenges in many parts of the world, his (Gandhi’s) example is even more relevant. This enduring legacy is one of the great gifts of India’s revolution,” Obama had said.

He felt that it was “only natural” that the world’s oldest and largest constitutional democracies should enjoy “strong relations”. America and India share many common goals and interests and the U.S. is New Delhi’s largest trading and investment partner, Obama had noted.

“With India, America has one of its most important relationships in an uncertain world...both countries, India and America, are working to protect their people and values of 21st century threats while at the same time respecting the rule of law and cultural pluralism,” the African-American leader said.

Obama initially had reservations about the Indo-U.S. nuclear deal and had even introduced a ‘killer amendment’ when the deal was first debated in the Foreign Relations Committee, but later backed it strongly both in the floor of Senate and outside.

Obama told an Indian magazine before the Manmohan Singh government’s July 22 trust vote that the nuclear agreement effectively balances a range of issues—from America’s strategic ties with India to its non-proliferation concerns to India’s energy needs.

The Democrat has also ruled out the possibility of renegotiation of the deal if he came to power.

However, one factor that is creating unease among Indians is Obama’s strong anti-outsourcing stance, which came to fore repeatedly during the campaign trail.

Still, Indian-Americans have overwhelmingly backed Obama amid hopes that his election will open the doors for others in the migrant communities to strive and succeed like him.

A large number of the Indian-American community especially the second generation have enthusiastically supported Obama and embraced his message of change.

Obama, all through his campaign, took care to reach out to the Indian-American community, sending wishes to them on Diwali, independence day and on tercentenary celebrations of consecration of Guru Granth Sahib.

“Indian-Americans balance love of the homeland with a strong commitment to America, and their knowledge, skills, values and entrepreneurial spirit have immeasurably benefited both countries. These efforts have played a significant role in creating a blueprint for bilateral relations that bring our nations closer,” he had said. (PTI)

http://www.indiajournal.com/pages/event.php?id=5110

[Azlady]

1. I look forward to see how Obama

Will address the issue of outsourcing once in Office, I hope it is one of the first issues addressed.

[OhioChick]

2. Our economy is in shambles...

People losing their jobs, homes, etc. at an catastrophic rate. If people don't see him addressing the issues that he promised.....he'll never get in for a second term.

[ihavenobias]

3. K & R

[WildEyedLiberal]

4. Well, sorry, but he wasn't elected President of India

It is not his job to do what's best for India. It's about time an American president puts American workers first.

I'm all for maintaining good relations with other countries, and I do recognize that India is an up-and-coming power, but there's no reason we should placate other countries by promising them jobs that can and should be performed by American workers.

[Waiting For Everyman]

5. K&R

America first. 'Bout time.

There's no reason Indians can't work in India... and corporations which employ them there don't need the incentives US companies should get for hiring here instead. Logic. Let the Indian government give them incentives off of Indian productivity and spend it there. Maybe then, the rest of their population would have a chance.

We have to incentivize what we want, and penalize what we don't. Or it won't happen, as we see.

[morillon]

6. I am watching this particular policy very closely.

Not only is the H1B system abused and rife with fraud, but the other visa programs are also being exploited by various multinational companies. In my last job, we had a number of Indian staff members on-site in the United States as part of an intra-company transfer type visa that's supposed to be only for very specialized skill sets, but the company was using it to bring over low level systems admins and very junior programmers. This undercuts the local labor market here in the U.S. and should be stopped. I can see shipping over a technical expert who's in the top 0.1% of his/her field to solve a specific, very difficult problem, but what they're doing here is an abuse of the program.

[ChromeFoundry]

7. I'm watching this very closely too...

In the IT field, I have yet to see anyone imported based on specific expertise in their field. What ever percentage of fraud a study claims...I guarantee it is truly higher.