The Philippines' $30-35 billion business process outsourcing industry—which employs nearly two million workers and contributes approximately 9 percent to national GDP—faces an existential threat from the proposed "Keep Call Centers in America Act of 2025," a bipartisan U.S. Senate bill (S. 2495) designed to repatriate American call center operations back to the United States.
The legislation would penalize U.S. companies that outsource more than 30 percent of their customer service operations abroad by imposing financial penalties, transparency requirements, and public disclosure rules, while the U.S. Secretary of Labor would maintain a "Do Not Reward" list barring such firms from federal grants, loans, or contracts for five years unless jobs are repatriated to America.
With approximately 70 percent of the Philippine BPO sector serving American clients and representing 70 percent of the industry's total investments, Philippine Ambassador Jose Manuel Romualdez confirmed diplomatic efforts to secure an exemption from the bill, while Trade Secretary Ma. Cristina Roque committed to consulting with industry leaders to develop a response strategy.
The industry claims competitive advantages that make reshoring costly and impractical, with Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry Chairman George Barcelon noting that U.S. domestic call center operations would face substantially higher labor costs—estimated at 4-5 times more expensive than offshore operations—and cannot be fully replaced by artificial intelligence.
Industry experts warn the bill could disrupt operations, slow growth, and trigger widespread job losses, though the measure remains at the Senate committee level with no vote scheduled, while the IT and Business Process Association of the Philippines continues evaluating the bill's precise implications and potential economic impact on the broader economy.
