India's ambassador to U.S. says outsourcing not causing unemployment [View All]

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Source: San Jose Mercury News

India's ambassador to the United States, Meera Shankar, recently visited the Bay Area. In an interview with the Mercury News, she discussed the relationship between the two countries and Silicon Valley's role in the growth of her country's economy. Here is an edited version of the interview:

... Q As the United States continues to struggle with an economic downturn and high unemployment, President Obama has talked about not "rewarding" companies that outsource work overseas. Does that sentiment concern you?

A Partly it's because there are high unemployment rates in the United States. And people get concerned, and we understand that. But this is not the cause for the unemployment. The important thing about the India-U.S. economic engagement is that it has been a two-way process. The synergies with Indian companies has helped the competitiveness and prosperity of U.S. companies. There are many products, for instance, that Cisco has on the global marketplace where the development of those products have been done largely in India. Our trade with the U.S. is broadly balanced. India exported about $9.6 billion worth of services to the United States in 2007. The U.S. exported $9.3 billion worth of services to India in 2007. And then in 2008, it has grown in both directions. India's exports of services were $12 billion; and the U.S. exports of services were (about) $10 billion.

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