Trump's trade reforms could bring outsourced IT support jobs back to the US

In a series of posts made on Twitter this weekend, President-elect Donald Trump confirmed plans to both punish American firms that move jobs overseas as well as provide tax breaks for companies that do not. If caught under the proposed 35% tariff, this could have major ramifications for American vendors that outsource their IT support.

The tweets themselves mention "product[s], cars, A.C. units etc." but do not provide more clarification on whether this would include IT support for hardware and software. Surveys of CFOs report that roughly 38% of American companies are currently outsourcing, with favored destinations being Southeast Asia, India, and China. More than 60% of the outsourced positions are IT support.

If applied to IT support as well as physical goods, the impact would be tremendous. The move would be a windfall for American IT workers, whose jobs have been in danger of being lost to outsourcing for over a decade. It might also improve the perceived quality of support for customers, as well as improve their opinions of the company itself: Gallup polls show that Americans overwhelmingly (77%) disapprove of outsourcing's effects on the American economy, and half have worries regarding the quality of the service. Other prominent concerns include communication problems and lack of security for customer data.

Companies and support workers—both in the US and overseas—are likely nervously waiting for more news on whether IT positions will fall under the proposed 35% tariff or not.

Source(s)