Tech Companies Defend Moving U.S. Jobs Overseas: Page 3 of 3

The technology group argued in its new report that moving jobs to countries such as China or India--where labor costs are cheaper--helps companies more readily break into foreign markets and hire skilled and creative employees in countries where students perform far better than U.S. students in math and science.

"Americans who think that foreign workers are no match for U.S. workers in knowledge, skills and creativity are mistaken," the trade group's report said.

Even as technology companies lobby against limits on offshore employment, they are urging the Bush administration to approve new tax credits on research and development spending, spend more on university research on physical science and adjust tax depreciation schedules for technology purchases. They said they also want improvements in education, especially in elementaries through high schools.

A vocal critic of technology companies moving jobs overseas, Marcus Courtney of Seattle, dismissed the latest report. "This is not a recipe for job creation in this country," said Courtney, president of the Washington Alliance of Technology Workers. "This is a recipe for corporate greed. They're lining up at the public trough to slash their labor costs."