Clinton sidesteps outsourcing controversy

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton just completed a trip to India, but she did not get specific about outsourcing concerns in the United States. Clinton promised to improve cooperation on high-tech trade between the two countries, amid growing pressure to curtail offshore outsourcing to India and other nations. She left with an agreement that the two countries would do just that.

American companies have been curtailing offshore outsourcing because of its increasing costs. Keeping jobs in the United States, including tech ones, is becoming a higher priority especially for communities willing to offer companies incentives to locate within their boundaries, the increasingly negative press over the issue and the nation's growing jobless rate (now at 9.5 percent).

That's not to say that offshore outsourcing is going away, but the spotlight has increased on it. President Obama made that a campaign issue last year, promising to keep more jobs in the United States instead of sending them overseas.

Clinton said the United States is not engaging in protectionism, but friendly competition, in an interview with Indian media.

"[Any country] is going to want to make sure we have enough jobs for our people," said Clinton, according to InfoWorld.com. "What President Obama has said is we do not want a return to protectionism."

For more on Clinton's visit to India:
- check out this InfoWorld.com article

Related Articles:
2009 trends to watch: Business process outsourcing
IBM will snag half of India's outsourcing work by 2010
Would Obama's tax code curb offshoring?