The Illinois Senator, playing to the gallery of those workers who have been displaced in manufacturing jobs as a result of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and generally to the anti-outsourcing crowd, said he would ensure that every pact the US signs has environmental, safety and labour standards to protect workers and consumers alike.

"We can't have toys with lead paint in them that our children are playing with. We can't have medicines that are actually making people more sick instead of better because they're produced overseas," Obama said.

At the same time, he said, Americans cannot "shy away" from globalisation. "We can't draw a moat around us."

"The problem is we've been negotiating just looking at corporate profits and what's good for multinationals," the African-American Senator said adding, "as President, what I want to be is an advocate on behalf of workers".

Facing the heat from US presidential hopefuls who blamed "shipping jobs" to China and India for rising US unemployment, the India Inc had last week launched a counter offensive through the media, telling Americans that the industry is creating new work opportunities for them.