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Economic cooperation is currently the best-functioning pillar of relations between the United States and Hungary, and the government is counting on American companies present in Hungary to keep the relationship alive, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó said in Budapest on Monday.
Speaking at a business forum of the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham), the minister said that hopes of calmer times after the coronavirus outbreak at the beginning of last year were a naive illusion, as the war in Ukraine broke out, causing the global economy to turn upside down twice in an unprecedented short period of time. In his speech, he highlighted the serious challenges and underlined that although it is a regional armed conflict, Europe as a whole is paying the price in terms of skyrocketing inflation, high food and energy prices, and a loss of competitiveness.
Péter Szijjártó pointed out that
it was a big mistake for Europe to compete with the United States, the world’s leading military power, in providing defense assistance to Ukraine,
adding that the war is taking place in Europe, and that although the negative consequences are global, the worst effects are felt in the neighborhood, not thousands of kilometers away.
He also referred to the Inflation Reduction Act in the US, a response to the economic difficulties, pointing out that the legislation was detrimental to Europe but patriotic and understandable from the US perspective. On the other hand, he said that the EU’s response, especially sanctions, is having a negative impact on the local economy, which is suffering from the restrictions, while the end of the war is not near.
The Hungarian Foreign Minister added that the combination of advanced Western technologies and readily available, cheap Russian energy has been the basis for European economic development so far, but the ties are being cut and the situation could deteriorate further as some would like to see the end of European-Chinese cooperation, which would “knock out” the European economy.
Finally, he said that
US companies form the second largest investor community in Hungary, with 1,700 companies employing around 107,000 people.
He pointed out that in 2022, bilateral trade turnover broke the record with 16%. The Hungarian government has supported 103 US investments in the last eight years with roughly two billion dollars, and is currently negotiating with eight companies.
Szijjártó stressed that economic cooperation is now the best-functioning pillar of the US-Hungarian relationship, which is common when there is a right-wing leadership in Budapest and a Democratic Party leadership in Washington, and the government relies on US companies to keep the relationship alive. He also touched on the recent termination of the double taxation treaty by the United States, welcoming the pledge by US Republican leaders to reopen it in the event of a change in government.
Featured photo via Facebook/Péter Szijjártó