Is your freelance business affected by America First Trade Policy?
Thread poster: Haluk Aka, Chartered Linguist (MCIL)
Haluk Aka, Chartered Linguist (MCIL)
Haluk Aka, Chartered Linguist (MCIL)  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 11:31
English to Turkish
+ ...
Dec 28, 2019

Hi All,

Today, in response to a seasons greetings that I sent earlier, a client PM wrote "we currently cannot use translators outside of the country"; the country being United States. That made me think and reflect on past year... and I think in comparison to 2018 and years before, I had much fewer assignments from the United States in 2019. Is this incidental? Do you think US agencies are outsourcing fewer jobs to professionals from abroad?

[Edited at 2019-12-28 16:35 GMT]... See more
Hi All,

Today, in response to a seasons greetings that I sent earlier, a client PM wrote "we currently cannot use translators outside of the country"; the country being United States. That made me think and reflect on past year... and I think in comparison to 2018 and years before, I had much fewer assignments from the United States in 2019. Is this incidental? Do you think US agencies are outsourcing fewer jobs to professionals from abroad?

[Edited at 2019-12-28 16:35 GMT]

[Edited at 2019-12-28 17:59 GMT]
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Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 11:31
Member (2007)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
I don't think so, but... Dec 28, 2019

The bulk of my work comes from Europe and I continue to receive projects from the USA as sporadically as ever. On the other side, having no clear idea of what a post-Brexit UK will look like (who does?), I wonder if my British clients will continue with a ‘business as usual’ attitude or will adopt a different approach….

 
Maxi Schwarz
Maxi Schwarz  Identity Verified
Local time: 06:31
German to English
+ ...
I don't think so Jan 6, 2020

I haven't had that much work from US clients in any year, I don't think.

 
John Fossey
John Fossey  Identity Verified
Canada
Local time: 07:31
Member (2008)
French to English
+ ...
Don't think so Jan 6, 2020

I have a number of US clients that give me orders sporadically. I have occasionally had those sort of restrictions, but usually because the job related to the military or national security, which I don't think had anything to do with "America First".

 
Kevin Fulton
Kevin Fulton  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 07:31
German to English
Probably has to with with payment methods ... Jan 6, 2020

... rather than political policy. Making foreign payments in the US is a major hassle. Most agencies pay either via check or "Automated Clearing House" (ACH), since they're too small to maintain international accounts. Although my business account is through JP Morgan Chase, I cannot make a foreign transfer without going through a lot of rigamarole.

 
John Fossey
John Fossey  Identity Verified
Canada
Local time: 07:31
Member (2008)
French to English
+ ...
Payments from US clients Jan 6, 2020

Kevin Fulton wrote:

... rather than political policy. Making foreign payments in the US is a major hassle. Most agencies pay either via check or "Automated Clearing House" (ACH), since they're too small to maintain international accounts. Although my business account is through JP Morgan Chase, I cannot make a foreign transfer without going through a lot of rigamarole.


FYI, TransferWise makes it pretty simple. My TransferWise account is connected to a US-based Chase Manhattan ACH account number. US clients just pay to that account via ACH and the funds appear in my TransferWise account.


Haluk Aka, Chartered Linguist (MCIL)
 
Haluk Aka, Chartered Linguist (MCIL)
Haluk Aka, Chartered Linguist (MCIL)  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 11:31
English to Turkish
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
I doubt that it is banking related Jan 6, 2020

Kevin Fulton wrote:

... rather than political policy. Making foreign payments in the US is a major hassle. Most agencies pay either via check or "Automated Clearing House" (ACH), since they're too small to maintain international accounts. Although my business account is through JP Morgan Chase, I cannot make a foreign transfer without going through a lot of rigamarole.


I doubt that it is banking-related because PayPal simplifies international payments greatly. Also, as John mentioned above, there are other options such as Transferwise and Payoneer (which also provides a local bank account number for ACH payments).


 
Dan Lucas
Dan Lucas  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 11:31
Member (2014)
Japanese to English
Confidentiality? Jan 7, 2020

Haluk Aka, Chartered Linguist (MCIL) wrote:
Is this incidental? Do you think US agencies are outsourcing fewer jobs to professionals from abroad?

I think it's probably coincidental, and I suspect confidentiality is the real issue lurking in the background. I have clients who will only send certain sensitive jobs to translators in the US or the UK, because they are concerned that the information will leak if sent to somewhere like China. Maybe this "not using freelancers outside of the US" is the logical end form of that?

I strongly believe that we will see increasingly stringent security requirements for documents going forward.

Regards,
Dan


 
Michael Newton
Michael Newton  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 07:31
Japanese to English
+ ...
America First Jan 7, 2020

I think many US-based agencies prefer overseas translators as "they are cheaper".

 


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Is your freelance business affected by America First Trade Policy?







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