Business
Trump tariffs on India’s software exports? Why IT sector is worried – double taxation, visa tightening may deal a blow – The Times of India
India’s IT sector is worried about the possible imposition of tariffs on software exports to the US by the Donald Trump administration. The IT sector is already experiencing challenges due to worldwide economic uncertainties and the increasing adoption of AI-based automation, according to industry specialists.The US government’s potential consideration of extending tariffs to software exports has created significant concern within India’s information technology industry, as this could severely impact their operations in their main market.
Trump tariff fears: Why is Indian IT sector worried?
The implementation of tariffs on services exports by the US administration could result in dual taxation, as Indian software companies already contribute substantial tax payments in the United States, according to an ET report.Additional restrictions on visa regulations might lead to increased operational costs due to necessary local recruitment in the US or neighbouring regions.
Tech in trouble?
The Indian technology services outsourcing sector, valued at $283 billion and including companies such as Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys, HCLTech and Wipro, derives over 60% of its earnings from the United States, whilst maintaining its primary workforce in India.However, the US administration has not yet formally announced or indicated any such intentions. Concerns arose after Peter Navarro, the US President’s senior advisor for trade, shared a social media post on X suggesting the application of tariffs on all outsourcing and foreign remote workers.A US conservative commentator Jack Posobiec posted: “Countries must pay for the privilege of providing services remotely to the US the same way as goods. Apply across industries, levelled as necessary per country.”Such implementation would affect all technology service recipients who utilise services from India and similar nations.
Will Trump impose tariffs on IT?
Phil Fersht, CEO and chief analyst at HFS group, suggests that discussions about tariffs on India’s outsourcing sector represent more political messaging than actual policy intentions. Nevertheless, any outsourcing penalties would generate immediate uncertainty, increase operational costs and affect profit margins during an already challenging demand period, the ET report said.“Imposing duties on digital labour flows is far more complex than taxing goods crossing borders. The US depends heavily on India’s IT and engineering talent, whether onsite through H-1B visas or offshore through remote delivery, to keep its own technology economy competitive,” Fersht said.“In addition, several tech billionaire leaders exert significant influence over the Trump administration, and many of them are strongly pro-India because their global businesses depend heavily on Indian engineering talent, delivery capability and market access.”Yugal Joshi, partner at US-based technology consultancy and analyst firm Everest Group, was quoted as saying: “These companies pay significant taxes in the US and therefore, the tariff will be double taxation… It will further harm growth of India-based service providers and even GCCs, if they are tariffed too.”
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Target faces a new boycott over ICE response as retailer presses ahead with turnaround
A major teachers’ union is calling for its members to skip Target when buying back-to-school supplies, the latest twist in a series of boycotts that have targeted the big-box retailer as its turnaround shows signs of life, CNBC has learned.
The AFT, or American Federation of Teachers, passed a resolution Thursday that calls on its 1.8 million members and others to shop at local stores and not at Target, saying the company did not respond adequately to the surge of federal immigration enforcement in the retailer’s hometown of Minneapolis this winter. Federal agents shot and killed two U.S. citizens, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, during the operation.
The labor union, which is affiliated with the AFL-CIO, plans to urge a similar resolution at AFL-CIO’s convention in Minneapolis this summer and at conventions held by other organizations, including the NAACP and LULAC, AFT President Randi Weingarten said.
Target declined to comment specifically on the AFT’s resolution but said in a statement that it has “a longstanding commitment to strengthening the communities we serve,” including donating 5% of profits since the company’s founding and offering a discount to educators as part of a teacher appreciation program.
Target’s annual sales have declined for the past three years in a row, but the company’s new CEO Michael Fiddelke laid out an ambitious plan earlier this month to refresh its stores, add more enticing merchandise and return to sales growth. The retailer said it expects net sales to rise about 2% this fiscal year compared with the prior year and anticipates sales will grow every quarter.
It is unclear if and how much the AFT’s call for a back-to-school boycott could hurt Target, which is trying to win back customers. Earlier this month, Atlanta area pastor Jamal Harrison Bryant announced the end of a yearlong boycott of the company, called Target Fast, which had started because of the company’s rollback of major diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.
At a press conference, Bryant said Target has demonstrated its commitment to the Black community with investments in Black businesses and donations to Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Yet other activists leading a separate boycott, including former Ohio state Sen. Nina Turner, have said they continue to call for shoppers to steer clear of Target.
The AFT previously supported and participated in the Target boycott over its DEI rollback.
The retailer has attributed some of its sales losses to backlash to its DEI decision, along with other factors including company missteps with merchandise, a weaker store experience and softer discretionary spending.
At an investor meeting in Minneapolis in early March, Fiddelke stressed that it’s “a new chapter for Target.” He said the company is “doing the work to build connection with new guests, deepen relationships with existing guests and earn back trust with guests we’ve disappointed.”
In a separate email to Target employees earlier this month, Fiddelke highlighted how the retailer is putting its strategy into action, including through its move to cut prices on more than 3,000 items and the opening of its 2,000th store. He said Target has made progress with winning back trust, too, noting the end of the Target Fast boycott.
He said Target has had “ongoing conversations with the organizers” of the boycott, who have “acknowledged the meaningful contributions Target has made, and will continue to make, to the Black community.”
In an interview with CNBC, Weingarten said the AFT’s boycott is focused on what she called Target’s lack of response to the surge of aggressive and violent immigration enforcement in its own backyard. Weingarten said the AFT sent a letter to Target and met with Target staff to encourage them to speak up before the union moved to pass the resolution.
“Target was negotiating with our colleagues in the civil rights community for weeks and weeks and weeks,” she said. “They could have very easily dealt with both [concerns about DEI and immigration enforcement] and they chose not to.”
She said Target is “more worried about standing with the Trump administration than the communities that made them a profitable company.”
Fiddelke joined dozens of executives from Minnesota-based corporations in co-signing a letter in late January calling for an “immediate de-escalation” in the state after the fatal shooting of Pretti. However, the letter did not name the shooting victims Pretti or Good or call out the president, his immigration policies or federal agents.
Fiddelke also shared a video message with employees that more directly acknowledged current events, but stopped short of calling for ICE agents to leave the city or for accountability in the two shooting deaths.
Weingarten described the CEOs’ letter as “insulting” and said it “basically blamed both sides.”
She said the union, which includes many teachers, can have the greatest financial impact during the back-to-school shopping season this summer and fall. By passing the resolution now, she said, the AFT can get the word out to members and “give Target enough time to come back to its senses.”
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