Trumps Causes BPO Sector to Jitter

Newly elected US president, Donald Trump, has promised to return jobs to America while reworking global trade agreements. This could have a seriously negative impact on various sectors in the Philippines’ economy, particularly the ones which are highly dependent on investments from the United States.

The BPO (business process outsourcing) industry in the Philippines had managed to generate revenues of about $22.9 billion in 2016 while also generating several million jobs. Trump’s remarks on renegotiation of trade agreements have obviously alarmed this sector.

The Philippine Economic Zone Authority had earlier sent a warning regarding the BPO sector expansion programs being put on hold. This is was due to the American president’s protectionist attitude towards policy making. Most of the leading BPO firms in the Philippines, including Convergys, have their headquarters in the United States.

There hasn’t been a public citation by President Trump with regards to US firms which have outsourced work to the Philippines. At present, he has alerted major automobile companies which have setting up manufacturing plants in various nations such as Mexico and minimizing job opportunities in the United States.

It might be best for the Philippines to consider reducing its dependency on America by broadening its economic connections.