Trump Administration Moving To END Indian Call Centers!

Carr Proposes Call Center Onshoring, English Proficiency Requirements

Rulemaking Opens New Front in Robocall Crackdown, Too, While Bringing Back American

Jobs and Improving Customer Service

WASHINGTON, March 4, 2026—Today, FCC Chairman Brendan Carr announced that the

Commission will be voting this month on proposals regarding the use of offshore call centers by

certain U.S. businesses. First, the FCC will vote on reforms that can encourage businesses to bring

call center jobs back the U.S. Second, the FCC will explore ways to improve customer service at

existing call centers, including a proposal to require call takers to be proficient in American Standard

English. Third, the FCC will address illegal robocalls that originate abroad by seeking comment on

the targeted use of tariffs or bonds. These proposals focus on the customer service centers run by the

communications providers regulated by the FCC.

Chairman Carr issued the following statement:

“Americans get frustrated when they call a U.S. business and end up connecting with a call center

located abroad. Language and communications barriers often make it difficult for callers to promptly

and efficiently get the results they want. And these foreign-based call centers often create a

heightened security risk as well. So the FCC will be voting on several proposals designed to reshore

call center jobs and improve the customer service experience at the ones that remain—including by

seeking comment on requiring call center workers to be proficient in American Standard English. The

FCC will also be opening up a new front in our efforts to block illegal robocalls from abroad by

examining the targeted use of tariffs or bonds.”

Additional Background Information:

Over the past few decades, many corporations shifted their customer service and call center

operations from America to a range of foreign countries – with nearly 70 percent of U.S. companies

outsourcing at least one department. These moves not only took jobs away from communities across

the country, they created a range of other problems as well. Today, consumers in the U.S. regularly

experience frustration and poor customer service when they connect with a call center located

abroad. There can be language, communication, and other barriers that make it difficult if not

impossible for consumers to get a satisfactory resolution to their problem.

The over-reliance on foreign call centers is a risk to privacy, data protection, and even national

security. Call centers often work with customers’ sensitive payment and account information. Yet,

many foreign countries do not impose the same legal protections as the United States. In addition,

foreign call centers have contributed to the onslaught of robocalls facing American households and

businesses, often leveraging the training and the infrastructure used to operate legitimate call centers

to defraud Americans.

The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking proposed today would seek comment on:• Ways to encourage and facilitate the onshoring of call centers, including limits on call

volume from overseas call centers, empowering consumers to transfer calls to a U.S.-based

location, or requiring covered providers to disclose the location of the call center during the

customer interaction;

• Steps the FCC can take to improve the customer service and security of communications

between an American and any call center that remains abroad, including requiring workers at

call centers to be proficient in American Standard English and otherwise be trained

appropriately for resolving issues with U.S. customers;

• How best to address illegal robocall scams that originate inside foreign call centers, such as

ways we can take the profit out of those operations (including specifically the idea of

requiring the use of bonds or tariffs in appropriate circumstances); and,

• The scope of the FCC’s legal authority, including the types of covered businesses,

applicability of rules to call centers operated by communications providers regulated by the

FCC, acknowledging limits on the FCC’s authority to address all potential call centers

located overseas.

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Media Contact: [email protected] / (202) 418-0500

@FCC / www.fcc.gov