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Outsourcing Disadvantage To The American Economy

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Outsourcing overseas is a major disadvantage to the American economy. Contrary to popular belief, companies argue that low- cost labor will in turn save them money and raise competitiveness, which will result in less costly products. When taken into consideration outsourcing eliminates domestic jobs. When a firm outsources, the jobs outsourced are, by definition, removed from the country. These jobs are then sent overseas, where labor is paid far less than in the United States: “[In July of 1983]AT&T decide[d] to transfer production of residential telephones from its only U.S. telephone manufacturing plant, in Shreveport, Louisiana, to Singapore. [Three years later] United Technologies announces it will close its diesel-engine parts plant …show more content…

Equally, companies based overseas cannot be managed adequately from the United States. In other words, firms who outsource jobs take a major risk that the contracted foreign firm will do its job well. A firm can only assume that the level of service from overseas manufacturers will be the same as the level of service in the United States. There is also the question of a firm's reputation, when outsourcing becomes extremely difficult to monitor. Companies producing overseas will find countries like China, is primarily lacking the standard level of quality control, unless extreme effort and time is implemented. Without proper measures, this can result in harmful products to US consumers. It is also, very difficult, expansive, and most of all expensive to press a lawsuit across borders to correct these problematic …show more content…

imports of toys, dolls and games from China averaged 15.30 billion dollars, not including food products. “The CDC’s L. Hannah Gould (now with the NYC health department) and Jennifer Kline, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Caitlin Monahan and Katherine Vierk- report 19 percent of food consumed by Americans is now imported. This includes 97 percent of fish and shellfish; 50 percent of fresh fruits; and 20 percent of fresh vegetables.” A staggering amount when considering local fruit and vegetable farmers, that are not receiving subsidies from our government, as their dairy and meat counterpart receives. Food safety news reports, “[Many outbreaks from imported produce], are traced back to Latin America and the Caribbean. [ Mexico accounts for one quarter of fruits and nuts imports and 45 to 50 percent of the vegetable imports.] The researchers also found that fish outbreaks are most commonly associated with Asia.” (foodsafetynews.com) Relatively, “[in 2008] U.S. Food and Drug Admiration has placed a hold on five types of farmed fish and seafood containing traces of antibiotic and antifungal drugs that are potentially harmful to humans.” An out right ban was not immediate because there were no reports of illness or death. Nevertheless, the FDA has stopped the import of shrimp, catfish, eel, basa and dace from China. “The FDA said that between October 2006 and May 2007, tests on some imported Chinese fish repeatedly found traces of the

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