Washington: As the Presidential elections in the US draws nearer, outsourcing of jobs to countries like India has emerged as one of the main issues in the campaign, with the Democratic candidate John Kerry trying to put George W Bush in a dock over the touchy topic.

Kerry has raised the topic on innumerable occasions during his campaign trial, forcing Bush, who has all along tried to play it safe, to address the issue saying, "The way to deal with outsourcing is to make America a better place to do business, not a worst place."

Despite warnings by experts that the US will be at a loss if obstacles are placed in its natural development, Kerry and his Vice-Presidential running-mate John Edwards have harped on the issue, analysts point out.

"We are told that outsourcing jobs is good for America. We (Democrats) value an America that exports products, not jobs. And we believe American workers should never have to subsidise the loss of their own job," Kerry told the Democratic party convention in New York recently.

"Few issues have become such a political hot button issue as outsourcing," David Eldon, Chairman of the Pacific Basin Economic Council (PBEC), an international business organisation, said.

He said, "Carping about 'Benedict Arnold' corporations (Kerry's phrase) that 'export' jobs plays well in the highly charged atmosphere of the US Presidential election season. Incumbents and challengers alike speak of the need for legislation to restrict what they view as a fundamental threat to the American economy."