‘Net Losers’: Jaishankar Slams US, Europe Over Curbs On Skilled Worker Mobility

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on Wednesday cautioned that the United States and several European nations risk damaging their own economic interests if they move to restrict the entry of skilled workers. Speaking at the India's World Annual Conclave 2025 in New Delhi, he said that countries advancing rapidly toward high-tech and advanced manufacturing sectors will increasingly require specialised talent that cannot be produced domestically at the pace needed.

Addressing concerns over rising political and social resistance to immigration in parts of the West, Jaishankar said the global movement of talent has historically been mutually beneficial. He noted that many of the economic challenges now visible in Western societies are rooted not in immigration, but in their decisions over the past two decades to allow industries to relocate abroad.

"A lot of these are issues they have to resolve because, in many cases, the actual crisis has nothing to do with the mobility of the incoming workforce," he said. "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."

Jaishankar emphasised that India's key message to partner countries is that facilitating the flow of talent serves the interests of all sides. "They would be net losers if they actually erected too many roadblocks to the flow of talent," he said.

The minister also underlined the structural challenge that advanced economies face as they move into more technology-driven manufacturing. He said the demand for highly skilled labour cannot be met organically within their own populations. "As we move into an era of advanced manufacturing, we will need more talent, not less, and talent cannot be developed organically at a high rate. There is a certain structural impediment out there. In their own societies, you can see the tension," he noted.

In recent years, the United States has introduced a series of visa restrictions, many of which have disproportionately affected immigrants. Individuals on H-1B visas, in particular, have experienced major consequences due to these policy shifts.