Outsourcing TO the U.S.?

Thinking of a country that delivers outsourced services, India springs to mind for many people around the world and the country was most commonly named as a destination providing outsourcing for companies queried in 30 countries by Deloitte. However, the country coming in in rank 2 for the metric in several recent years - the United States - is mainly known for the opposite.

Both of these scenarios can be true as U.S. companies are both providers and clients for outsourcing. American companies might outsource certain business function to other, specialized enterprises within their own country to streamline processes while at the same time accessing personnel with specialized knowledge, achieving regulatory compliance and staying within their same time zone. But companies from overseas can also choose to outsource certain functions to the U.S., creating additional jobs there in the process. This happens, for example, when European companies outsource weekend or afterhours operations to the United States, thereby skirting local mandatory evening and night hour pay premiums - like in the case of the German Flixbus hotline staffed by Americans during those times. This shows that by employing Americans, European companies can access a premium service and cut costs at times. More common is the scenario of outsourcing or expanding to the U.S. to access specialized skillsets or tap into the coveted U.S. market.

Outsourcing was a controversial topic in the 2000s in the U.S. when many business support functions and manufacturing jobs moved overseas and the U.S. became one of the most prolific outsourcing customers in the world. Now, the topic is back in focus due to pushes by Republicans and Trump administration officials to tariff or tax outsourcing. Some scholars have said that this could backfire, however, as other countries could in turn block their companies from utilizing U.S. labor, which is sought after abroad in sectors like research and development or IT.