Bush Tackles Outsourcing Issue

Touching on one of the most politically heated aspects of the U.S. relationship with India, President Bush on Friday defended American corporations that outsource jobs overseas in pursuit of inexpensive labor.

Bush spoke on the final day of a state visit to India in which he declared that the two nations, estranged for much of the 20th century, are now “closer than ever before.”

“People do lose jobs as a result of globalization, and it’s painful for those who lose jobs,” the president said during a round-table discussion at the India School of Business in this city about 800 miles south of New Delhi. “But the fundamental question is, ‘How does a government or society react to that?’

“And it’s basically one of two ways. One is to say losing jobs is painful, therefore let’s throw up protectionist walls. And the other is to say losing jobs is painful, so let’s make sure people are educated so they can find -- fill the jobs of the 21st century.”

Bush later flew amid tight security to Islamabad, Pakistan’s capital, where he met today with President Pervez Musharraf. The precautions came in the wake of a bombing this week in Karachi that killed a U.S. consular officer, as well as violent anti-U.S. protests throughout the region.

Bush’s trip was considered so dangerous that Air Force One, the 747 that has come to symbolize the might of the U.S. presidency, landed late Friday with window shades drawn and running lights turned off.

Once the plane was on the ground, the White House appeared to create a deliberate diversion by sending both a typical motorcade and two Black Hawk helicopters to the tarmac. It was unclear whether the president rode in a car or a helicopter, but he wound up safely at the U.S. Embassy for the night.

Today’s talks are expected to focus on Pakistan’s role in rooting out Islamic militants and pro-Taliban forces and pursuing democratic reforms. Also looming over the talks is the nuclear deal with India that Bush announced during his three-day trip there, a pact that would lift the U.S. ban on selling nuclear materials and technology to Pakistan’s longtime rival. Although the Bush administration has said it would not offer a similar deal to longtime ally Pakistan, officials in Islamabad have said they would request one.

Under the pact, which requires Congress’ approval, India agreed for the first time to make some of its nuclear reactors available for international inspection. Some U.S. lawmakers, particularly in economically hard-hit industrial states, could be reluctant to support a deal viewed as favorable to India.

Critics charge that the Bush administration ceded too much in the agreement, giving India the freedom to close as many reactors as its wants to inspection and to escalate its weapons production. They also worry that cooperating with a country that has not signed the 1970 Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty could create tensions with nuclear-armed Pakistan and complicate efforts to block the production of nuclear weapons in countries such as Iran and North Korea.

On Friday in India, Bush said the deal would help India and the U.S. move beyond their long estrangement in world affairs. “We’re getting rid of the Cold War,” he said at the business school.

But as Bush left India, it was domestic politics -- how U.S. workers will fare as he pursues broader trade and commerce with India -- that emerged as a major issue.

Outsourcing has been a political hot-button issue throughout the Bush presidency, with the White House contending that the practice makes economic sense. Many Democrats and labor union leaders accuse U.S. corporations that send jobs overseas of undermining American workers.

Bush sought Friday to recast the issue in the public’s mind.

“We won’t fear competition, we welcome competition, but we won’t fear the future either, because we intend to shape it through good policies,” Bush said. “And that’s how you deal in a global economy. You don’t retrench and pull back. You welcome competition and you understand globalization provides great opportunities.”

His remarks underscored the leading role played this week by U.S. corporations in pursuing closer ties between the U.S. and India, a lucrative market with a population of 1.1 billion. The Bush White House has strong ties to the business community, closely cooperating with corporations on everything from campaign strategy to lobbying for tax cuts and Social Security reform.

On Thursday, the president played host in New Delhi to a meeting of chief executives focusing on trade policies and other economic issues. The event included executives from corporate giants Cargill Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co., Citigroup Inc., Honeywell International Inc., PepsiCo Inc., Visa International and Xerox Corp.

Administration officials also predicted this week that the nuclear agreement could bring in billions of dollars for U.S. businesses that would finally be allowed to sell technology and fuel to India.

On Friday, Bush toured an agricultural university to highlight growing cooperation on farming issues. He lifted a pumpkin, inspected mangoes and even briefly tried to till a garden.

During a later speech in New Delhi, Bush predicted the future success of U.S. businesses in Indian markets. He offered a litany of companies already making forays into the nation.

“Americans who come to this country will see Indian consumers buying McCurry Meals from McDonald’s, home appliances from Whirlpool,” he said. “They will see Indian businesses buying American products like the 68 planes that Air India recently ordered from Boeing.

“They will also see American businesses like General Electric and Microsoft and Intel who are in India to learn about the needs of local customers and do vital research that makes their products more competitive in world markets,” he added.