A US bill has caused an uproar in India and the Philippines for punishing American companies for sending their customer call centres overseas.

The legislation, pushed by Republican Tim Bishop and the Communications Workers of America (CWA) union, states that companies who outsource their contact centre requirements are not eligible for guaranteed federal loans and grants for a period of five years.

Politicians and corporations fear lost business due to the US bill's protectionist measures. The "US Call Centre Worker and Consumer Protection Act", would also require those companies to report themselves in advance to the Labour Department, which would maintain a public list of the companies that outsource.