WCA September 2012

From the americas

largest companies also need to have employees on the ground for “onshore” work. But rejection rates, which were around ten per cent five years ago, are now as high as 50 per cent, says Ajoyendra Mukherjee, executive vice president and head of global human resources for Tata, India’s largest IT services company. Som Mittal, the president of the Indian IT services industry’s trade organisation Nasscom, said: The high rejection rates “add immensely to the uncertainty of our business. We are never sure [whether] somebody will be approved or not.” ❖ There is apparently a limit to Indian patience with this kind of thing. According to Mr Einhorn, Indian companies in greater numbers are considering such alternatives as employing more American locals. Tata hired 1,600 people in the US last year, up from 1,200 in 2010. Acknowledging the “inevitable” pressure on visas, given the high rate of local unemployment, Mr Staples of Mindtree predicted a decline in his reliance on work visas. He said the company plans to hire 400 people at a new centre in Gainesville, Florida, and to open more centres in the US. “If visas become harder to get,” the Mindtree executive told Mr Einhorn, “we have the ability to accelerate that.”

Trade

Winning some, losing some, the United States and China go on airing their mutual grievances in the World Trade Organization “China firmly opposes the abuse of trade remedy measures and trade protectionism.” This statement, by China’s Ministry of Commerce, accompanied a complaint at the World Trade Organization against US import duties on 22 Chinese products that the United States says are unfairly priced or subsidised, including steel products, wind towers, and solar panels. The complaint – filed 26 th May and encompassing other products, as well – covers exports to the US worth $7.3 billion, the Ministry said. The Chinese action was a clear counterstrike. Eight days before, the US Commerce Department had set punitive tariffs on solar panels that it accused Chinese exporters of dumping on the American market. In December 2010, the US launched a trade suit over Chinese government grants to wind power manufacturers, although it did not pursue the case. Earlier that same year, the US imposed hefty anti-dumping duties on Chinese steel pipe imports.

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Wire & Cable ASIA – September/October 2012