The Border Security Bill Reeks of Protectionism

by Lucky Balaraman, Executive Director, TMG

On August 12 2010 President Obama of the US signed into law a Border Security Bill that increases the fee for H1-B visas by US$ 2000 – 2500. This was clearly intended to shield unemployed US IT specialists against "imports" and is a blatant protectionist measure.

India has been exceptionally victimized by the Bill since it has thousands of H1-B IT specialists working in the US at any one time. The US should have first thought of raising duties on Chinese imports (which have taken away thousands of manufacturing jobs from the US). But then, of course, why would it, since China has loaned the US $844 million (by buying US Treasury Bonds, see http://www.ustreas.gov/tic/mfh.txt).

There are several ways in which India can counter this discriminatory move:

1. India could choose an imported product for which the US is the primary source and increase the duty rate on it (an example would be diamonds; India imports $1.4 billion of them from the US annually)

1. India could take the matter to the WTO (there are already plans to do this)

1. The Bill is expected to cost Indian companies around $200 million. India could ask for this much additional discount next time it makes one of its massive defense purchases from the US.

Of the three above alternatives, in my opinion the second is preferable; the others suggest behavior similar to that of the US’s… why should India seek to emulate that which it condemns?

Why You Should Offer 3D CAD File Downloads of Your Product

You know the old saying: "People buy from other people whom they like and trust." Well, there is a corollary to that: "People buy from other people whose CAD models they love and trust."

Users, whether they be engineers, architects or interior designers, need to know whether your company’s products are a good fit for their designs. Increasingly, what users are doing is wanting to download a 3-D model from your website, position that model in their larger 3-D model of a machine or architectural project and check for the fit.

Downloadable 3-D models should be provided for a good reason: they make good marketing sense. By playing with your 3-D models, users are subconsciously getting familiar with them and getting to like them. This increases the likelihood of them buying your physical product when their design is done.

An innovation in downloadable 3-D models is for websites to provide what are known as parametric 3-D models. A parametric model is a model whose design is controlled by a list of parameters. The parameters are offered to the user in a table, the user chooses the parameters he/she wants, the model is drawn on the fly and the user downloads it immediately.

There are two variants of parametric model provision: in one variant, the user goes to your website and chooses parameters from a table of parameters on your website. Your website instantaneously creates a 3-D model based on those parameters and makes the 3-D model available for download.

The other variant is a ‘client’ version of the same system. Instead of choosing the parameters at your website, the user downloads the table of parameters and your model creating software into his/her machine. He/she launches the program, is presented with a table of parameters and the 3-D model is created on the user’s machine without the Internet.

Regardless of which variant you provide, the user is made familiar with your product. It is almost as if the user is given a free sample of your product, the difference being that it is not a physical sample but a digital sample. The effect on the user’s mind, however, is very similar to that of the the physical sample: the user knows what your product looks like, he/she uses it, he/she likes it and he/she wants to buy it.

The takeaway: provide downloadable 3-D models of your products and if possible make them parametric. Your users will appreciate this facility and will be more likely to buy what you are selling.

Interview with the Trump Soho Spa Architect Anthony Diguiseppe

Our latest guest on TMG’s Engineering and Architecture Video Show was the architect who designed the soon-to-be-opened, spectacular spa at the Trump Soho Hotel in New York City.

Anthony J DiGuiseppe, member of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and a charter member of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) talks in depth about the challenges his firm faced in the project and the outstanding features of this hammam (Middle Eastern bath) in the middle of one of the world’s busiest metropolises. Do not miss this 10-minute tour-de-force!