US, Europe will be 'net losers' if they curb skilled immigration, warns Jaishankar

Jaishankar noted that with industries transitioning toward advanced manufacturing, countries would require more specialised workers than they can train domestically.

External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar, on Wednesday, warned that the U.S. and several European countries could undermine their own economic interests if they continue tightening restrictions on immigration and the movement of skilled workers.

Speaking at an event in New Delhi, the EAM said Western nations risked becoming “net losers” in an era where advanced manufacturing and high-end talent drive competitiveness.

Addressing concerns over the political backlash against immigration in parts of the West, Jaishankar argued that current anxieties were misplaced.

“In many cases, the actual crisis has nothing to do with the mobility of the incoming workforce,” he said, adding that the roots of the problem lay in long-term policy decisions. “If there are concerns in the United States or in Europe, it is because they very consciously and deliberately, over the last two decades, allowed their businesses to relocate. It was their choice and strategy. They have to find ways of fixing it, and many of them are," noted the minister.

For India, he said, the priority was to make a strong case for the value of cross-border movement of skilled professionals. “The part which concerns us is to convince them that mobility, the use of talent across boundaries, is to our mutual benefit,” he stated, further adding, “They would be net losers if they actually erected too many roadblocks to the flow of talent.”

Jaishankar noted that with industries transitioning toward advanced manufacturing, countries would require more specialised workers than they can train domestically.

“Talent cannot be developed organically at a high rate. There is a structural impediment there, and you can see the tension in their societies,” he said. He predicted that Western governments would ultimately strike a “modest vivendi” between political pressures and economic needs.

Responding to a question on India’s own rising demand for skilled professionals, Jaishankar said restricting outward mobility was neither feasible nor desirable. “We can’t tell people not to go out to work. We’re a democratic society,” he said. “If they get better prospects, they will look at it. The common-sense thing is to create opportunities at home," he remarked.

He stressed that India must address both the supply and demand sides of the equation. While expanding the pool of skilled workers remains essential, he said, sustaining high growth was equally critical to retaining talent. “Unless we are able to sustain high growth rates, we will not be able to find opportunities for their employment and retention,” he added.