Economic and financial ties between Hungary and the United States are on the up and an increasing number of Hungarian companies are entering the American market, Finance Minister Mihály Varga said after talks with David B. Cornstein, the US Ambassador to Hungary, on Monday.
There are a number of schemes available to Hungarian firms that can help them break into the US market, the finance ministry quoted Varga as saying in a statement.
Varga and Cornstein agreed that bilateral economic cooperation was successful, noting that the US is Hungary’s top export partner outside Europe and American companies are Hungary’s biggest non-EU investors.
The increase in American investors indicates that they are satisfied with the local business environment and the country’s political stability, Varga added, noting that the US is Hungary’s third largest investor in terms of FDI.
The government’s aim is to make Hungary one of the most competitive investment environments in Europe, the minister said.
To this end, the government is working to boost vocational training and continue lowering taxes on labour, having already reduced the corporate tax rate to 9 percent, he added.
More and more Hungarian companies are establishing a presence on the American market mainly in the infocommunication technology and biotechnology sectors, Varga said. The recently inaugurated Business Promotion and Development Campus in Washington, DC, will provide further support for innovative Hungarian firms looking to enter the US market, he added.
The minister praised the role Cornstein has played in promoting bilateral business relations, noting that he was the American head of the Hungarian delegation at the SelectUSA investment summit in June.
Plans are in place for the US to host the first Hungarian startups in the framework of a pilot scheme from the autumn, he said.
Varga cited the tax information exchange agreement signed between the two countries last year as an “important milestone” in bilateral financial ties.
As we wrote two weeks ago, the US ambassador has welcomed parliament’s adoption of a defence cooperation agreement between the US and Hungarian governments.
Source: MTI
1 comment
Hungary has a terribly managed embassy in New York City. They should staff their embassy with diplomats instead of Russian trained spies. Perhaps it would show good faith toward the United States, in hope of move up from the 2nd worst living standards in the EU.