The Hindu : International / India & World : Open up Indian markets:U.S.

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Thursday, Jun 24, 2004

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International - India & World

Open up Indian markets:U.S.

WASHINGTON, JUNE 23. The United States has said that it does not oppose outsourcing of jobs but would like an opening of markets in India to provide more jobs for Americans.

The U.S. Assistant Secretary of State, Christina Rocca, said on Tuesday that the administration led by George W. Bush had made it clear that "we do not oppose outsourcing."

"What we would like to see in exchange," she said, "is an opening of markets in India and other countries, which in turn provide more jobs in the United States. That is [the] sort of the way it has been formulated." She was speaking at a hearing on South Asia by a sub-committee of the International Relations Committee.

She denied that there was any "India-bashing" on the part of the Bush administration with respect to outsourcing jobs. "If there was more opening of markets in India, it would also help the furore die down because it would — by its nature — increase a lot of jobs here and elsewhere as well."

The Republican Congressman, Thomas Tancredo, who had repeatedly tried to limit the number of visas given to overseas professionals in the U.S., said there was an explosion in the number of L1 category visas granted to foreign companies to bring professionals.

"Already there are somewhere near a million people here as a result of the widespread abuse of visas," he alleged.

Ms. Rocca assured the Congressman that "our Consulate people are taking the visa fraud issue very, very seriously."

— PTI

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