IT Service Exports: US President Donald Trump’s senior trade adviser and tariff supporter Peter Navarro reignited fears of a digital tariff war by re-posting a call for tariffs on outsourcing and foreign remote workers on social media platform X (formerly called Twitter). The original post, made on September 1 by right-wing activist and former US Naval Intelligence officer Jack Posobiec, sounded like a manifesto for taxing the digital economy. “Impose tariffs on foreign remote workers.
All outsourcing should be subject to tariffs. Countries should pay for the privilege of providing services to the US remotely the same way they pay for goods. This should be applied across all industries, and be equalized by country as needed,” Posobiec wrote.
Navarro’s endorsement immediately fuelled speculation that the Trump campaign was preparing the ground for tariffs on India’s $283 billion IT outsourcing sector, which earns most of its revenue from the United States. The mere hint is enough to send waves of anxiety across India’s technology services industry and the millions of tech professionals whose careers depend on US-linked projects.
Adding fuel to the fire, on September 5, right-wing commentator Laura Loomer claimed on X that President Trump was “considering preventing US IT companies from outsourcing their work to Indian firms.”
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