TORONTO, Feb 20 (UNI) Canada has joined India in ringing alarm bells over the proposed US protectionist measures which could wipe out Canadian call centres handing customers for US companies.
Like India, Canada is a favored outsourcing destination for major US companies which are facing a proposed tightening of the leash by their government.
In ontario alone, the provincial government estimates there are more than 3,000 call centres employing more than 150,000 people.
About 80 per cent of the work is serving clients in the United States or other foreign countries.
The Bush administration is arguing in favour of keeping the call centre jobs within the US which it feels could be an effective way to fight off the current unemployment blues of the country.
US legislators including would-be democratic presidential candidate senator John Kerry have tabled bills at the federal level and in several states to prevent any outsourcing of these jobs.
The Canadian government has asked Washington to ensure that Canada gets an exemption from these proposed measures which will destroy the ability of the Canadian call centres to handle customers for US companies.
International trade minister Jim Peterson says federal officials are pressing Washington to make sure Canada is not sideswiped by this legislation.
Rules at the World Trade Organization and under the north American free-trade agreement forbid governments to single out foreign operations for harsher treatment than domestic operations.
"We fully expect the United States to remain faithful to its trade policy obligations under NAFTA," Peterson said.
"Federal and provincial officials continue to address this issue with their counterparts at every opportunity." About us | Advertise | Other Publications | Subscriptions | Weather | Letters | Send Mail Disclaimer: Information is being made available at this site purely as a measure of public facilitation.
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