Trump’s policies won’t harm call centers in PHL–PEZA

By Catherine Pillas, Businessmirror, Apr 16, 2017

Business-process outsourcing (BPO) firms in the Philippines will not be affected by US President Donald J. Trump’s protectionist stance, according to the chief of the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (Peza).

Peza Director General Charito B. Plaza said American businesses moved to reassure their BPO providers in the Philippines during a recent investment mission wherein she sought the US Chamber of Commerce’s sentiment on the industry’s future. “I asked some US investors who are familiar with the policies of Trump, conveying to them the fear of our BPOs. The US government will not press for IT-BPM [information technology-business-process management] to cut down on offshore operations to minimize job displacement of Americans,” Plaza said.

“BPOs will not be affected because the ‘America First’ policy will mostly affect the manufacturing capability, and not services,” she added.

Plaza said John Goyer, senior director for Asia of the US Chamber of Commerce, made this statement during a meeting.

According to Plaza, American businesses are more concerned about their manufacturing operations in countries that enjoy a huge trade surplus with the US. She said Washington will most likely target these operations to increase the availability of jobs in the US. American firms account for 70 percent outsourced work to the Philippines. Per subsector, the IT and health-care services rely mostly on the US. The IT and Business Process Association of the Philippines made an assurance that it’s “business as usual” for the BPOs in the country, maintaining that only economic factors have thus far dictated developments in their sector.

“Right now in terms of direct impact, we’ve not really seen material impact in the way our clients are interacting with us,” Benedict Hernandez, chairman of the Contact Center Association of the Philippines, told reporters in a news briefing last month.