After imposing steep tariffs on Indian goods, the US seems to be exploring a new front: potential tariffs on IT services, foreign remote workers, and outsourced business processes. Coupled with proposals to overhaul the H-1B visa system, and an increased levy on remittances made by Green Card holders and temporary visa workers, the move points to a broader strategy that could constrain India’s most significant export engine: its human resources, including its engineers, coders, and students\u2014who sustain both Silicon Valley and the ITES boom in the US.<\/p>\n
The debate gained traction when conservative commentator Jack Posobiec posted on X that “all outsourcing should be tariffed” and that foreign countries must “pay for the privilege of providing services remotely to the US the same way as goods.”<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
He added that the approach could be applied “across industries, levelled as necessary per country.”<\/p>\n
The post was later reposted by Senior Counsellor for Trade and Manufacturing, Peter Navarro, indicating that these ideas are resonating with the most powerful in the White House.<\/p>\n
WHAT WILL BE THE IMPACT OF TARIFF ON IT SERVICES?<\/p>\n
If implemented, such measures could fundamentally alter the economics of global outsourcing.<\/p>\n
Tariffs on foreign remote workers would raise the cost of providing IT and back-office services to US companies, potentially prompting firms to rethink contracts, increase prices, or even bring work back stateside.<\/p>\n
The ripple effects could disrupt supply chains, delay projects, and erode profit margins for Indian IT companies heavily reliant on the American market.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
India’s IT and services sector is a cornerstone of its economy. Each year, millions of engineering and computer science graduates enter the workforce, creating a steady pipeline of talent for IT and business process outsourcing firms.<\/p>\n
Companies such as Infosys, TCS, Wipro, Cognizant, and HCL are among the top sponsors of H-1B visas, which allow skilled workers to be employed in the US for several years.<\/p>\n
India’s greatest export to America is not goods, but the people\u2014its software engineers, data scientists, IT consultants, and students.<\/p>\n
Major IT firms have long been central to US digital transformation efforts, providing software development, cloud services, and large-scale business process outsourcing.<\/p>\n
Any move to impose service tariffs could therefore, threaten a sector that underpins both employment and India’s global economic standing.<\/p>\n
Beyond the financial impacts, such policies could strain bilateral relations, complicate talent mobility, and force Indian companies to diversify markets.<\/p>\n
CURB ON TALENT POOL AND INCREASE IN REMITTANCES<\/p>\n
Alongside service tariffs, the US is tightening visa regulations, a critical channel for India’s IT workforce.<\/p>\n
H-1B visas have long served as the backbone of India’s IT export model, enabling professionals to gain on-site experience in the US, build client relationships, and contribute to project delivery.<\/p>\n
Recent proposals seek to restrict visa durations for international students, cultural exchange visitors, and foreign journalists, ostensibly to tighten oversight and reduce misuse.<\/p>\n
The US has also increased taxation on remittances. India is the world’s top remittance recipient.<\/p>\n
“The US tax on remittances sent abroad by non-citizens is raising alarm in India, which stands to lose billions in annual foreign currency inflows if the plan becomes law,” the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) told The Hindu.<\/p>\n
Reserve Bank of India data shows the US is the largest source of remittances to India, accounting for 27.7% of the remittances that flowed into the country in 2023-24.<\/p>\n
– Ends<\/p>\n
Published By: <\/p>\n
Priyanjali Narayan<\/p>\n
Published On: <\/p>\n
Sep 3, 2025<\/p>\n
Tune In<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"After imposing steep tariffs on Indian goods, the US seems to be exploring a new front: potential tariffs…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":394595,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3090],"tags":[51,136472,1700,101423,136475,36695,136473,136474,136469,136471,136470,13108,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-394594","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-economy","8":"tag-business","9":"tag-donald-trump-tax","10":"tag-economy","11":"tag-green-card","12":"tag-h1b-workers","13":"tag-peter-navarro","14":"tag-peter-navarro-tax-remote-workers","15":"tag-peter-navarro-x","16":"tag-trump-h1b-visa","17":"tag-trump-it-services","18":"tag-trump-remittance-tax","19":"tag-trump-tariff-news","20":"tag-uk","21":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115140514647746778","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/394594","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=394594"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/394594\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/394595"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=394594"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=394594"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=394594"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}