WCA November 2010

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Wire & Cable ASIA – November/December 2010 34
From theamericas
more than 40 American steel companies went bankrupt
because they could not compete with steel companies in
countries such as China. Paul J Nyden of the Gazette-Mail
noted that the union official and his fellow USW members
once worked at Weirton Steel, a West Virginia mill whose
downsized production facilities are now owned by
Luxembourg-based ArcelorMittal. (“Raese’s Comments on
Steel Draw Criticism,” 7th August)
Himself the president and CEO of a steel company – Greer
Industries (Dover, Ohio), which makes cold-rolled strip steel
for autos and motorcycles, as well as smaller products –
John Raese is also a strong proponent of regulatory reform.
“I am in manufacturing,” he told Mr Nyden. “I send products
out of [the US]. When we compete with China, or any other
country, we don’t have the same laws. In 2008, Congress
levied over 3,800 new regulations directed toward business.
Does that do us any good?”
Answering his own question, the Senate hopeful said,
“Some safety regulations do us some good. But some of
the regulatory nightmares our businesses face need more of
a business touch than a career politician’s touch.”
Elsewhere in steel . . .
AK Steel (Middletown, Ohio) has boosted its spot market ❖ ❖
base price by $40 per ton on all new orders for its carbon
steel products. The company attributed the increase to
strengthening demand, as well as to the need to offset
higher costs for raw materials. Writing in the Middletown
Journal (5 th September), Jessica Heffner quoted the
president of the workers’ union at the company as
saying that the Middletown Works is running at 85%
capacity, compared with 45% a year before. Scott Rich
said, “It has been a remarkable turnaround.”
Acting on a complaint from steel maker JSL Ltd, the ❖ ❖
government of India has begun an investigation into
alleged dumping into the Indian market of cold-rolled
flat steel by exporters from the United States, the
European Union and South Korea. JSL, India’s largest
stainless steel producer, asserted that the imports
caused injury to the domestic steel industry. The probe
is to look into imports over the 15-month period January
2009–March 2010. As reported by the Economic Times
(5 th September), India has recently imposed duties in
15 anti-dumping cases across various sectors.
Employment
A steep rise in visa fees for IT workers
outsourced to the US is interpreted – and
resented – as targeting Indian companies
Before disbanding for its late-summer recess, the US
Senate unanimously passed a bill that – if, as seems likely,
it becomes law – will nearly double the fees on work visas
for IT companies sending more than half their employees
on assignment to the United States. The fee hike would be
steep ($2,000 per person).
This, taken together with the rare consensus among the
senators, argues a strong perceived correlation in the
American mind between IT workers on work permits and
persistent high domestic unemployment.
Senator Charles Schumer, of New York, who sponsored
the bill, cited the unemployment factor. But there is another
strong element in the Senate bill: illegal immigration. The fee
increases are to help finance a $600 million effort to boost
security at the US–Mexican border, including the addition of
1,500 guards and other officials.
Indian Trade Minister Anand Sharma promptly protested
the measure in a letter to his opposite number, US Trade
Representative Ron Kirk, claiming that the impending
legislation will hurt primarily companies of Indian origin.
A statement posted 10th August on the official government
website declared, “Though the need of the US government
to strengthen their border security is understandable, it is
inexplicable to our companies to bear the cost of such a
highly discriminatory law.”
Writing from New Delhi in Bloomberg News, reporters Kartik
Goyal and Unni Krishnan noted that the law would not affect
US technology companies such as International Business
Machines Corp, Microsoft Corp, and Google Inc, since less
than half their workers are on work visas.
But, they pointed out, “[Indian] technology companies such
as Wipro and Infosys bring skilled workers from overseas,
often from India, into the US to develop software and
manage projects for customers in the country.” (“India
Expresses Concern on ‘Discriminatory’ US Bill,” 10th August)
According to informed estimates, the bill awaiting the
reconvened US Congress could cost such companies up to
$250 million a year.
Another ❖ ❖ Bloomberg reporter, Asia regional editor Bruce
Einhorn, wrote that the higher fee for a work visa will
not deter Indian companies from sending people to the
US. The bigger concern, he wrote, is “where this leads.”
(“India Criticizes New US Outsourcing Fee,” 10th August)
In the view of Sudeshna Sen of the Economic Times, it
leads to the wide dissemination of a highly skewed view
of Indian IT workers overseas. On 9th August, Ms Sen
wrote, “This is just the beginning, with other Western
governments likely to follow the American lead. In a
situation of high local unemployment, and political unrest
about illegal immigration, new urban myths are being
created: in Europe, US, UK, wherever. In the minds of
the public, Indian IT workers on work permits, transfers,
or [work visas] equate to jobs stolen from locals — and
[from] community and national resources in the host
countries that these people use.”
Ms Sen called on Nasscom, lobbyist for the Indian IT
industry, to launch publicity campaigns to dispel these
misapprehensions and educate Westerners about what
Indian IT workers do.
“Interesting idea,” commented Bloomberg’s Mr Einhorn.
“But with unemployment rates so high, Nasscom would
have to run quite a PR campaign to convince people that
they’re wrong about outsourcing.”