On September 1, AmCham welcomed Szabolcs Takács, Ambassador of Hungary to the United States to its first Business Forum following the summer break. The Ambassador addressed the state of the U.S.- Hungarian bilateral relationship including recent measures such as the termination of the Double Tax Treaty, and the limitations in the Visa Wavier Program as well as the impact of the war in Ukraine and the evolving geopolitical landscape.
Regarding bilateral relations, the Ambassador emphasized the mutual interest of both countries in maintaining their longstanding trade partnership and highlighted that the United States holds a significant position as a business partner for Hungary.
Acknowledging that differences exist – which he mainly attributed to cultural, social and mostly political factors - he noted that U.S. headquartered companies in Hungary, in some cases, need to consider longer and more complex administrative processes due to certain measures, such as the termination of the tax treaty and limitations in the Visa Waiver program. On the other hand, he stated that political divergences need not jeopardize foreign direct investments (FDI), as Hungary is still considered a favorable investment destination from an economic perspective.
The Ambassador also expressed that the complexity in U.S. relations extends beyond Hungary, as recent measures aimed at enhancing the domestic competitiveness of the U.S. such as the Inflation Reduction Act present challenges at EU-level. The emerging Chinese economy also increases the complexity of navigating the global trade and political landscape – said the Ambassador.
He also stressed that despite these challenges, and the opening to major Eastern investors, such as Korea or China, U.S. companies are very much welcome in Hungary, which he identified as part of the "West”.
AmCham representing the interest of U.S. and international companies in Hungary for more than 30 years, continues its advocacy work to engage with key policymakers on high-priority policy issues. We have communicated on several platforms the importance of negotiating a new Double Taxation Treaty. In addition we addressed the issue of windfall taxes that place an unpredictable burden on pharmaceutical companies, and have also articulated positions calling for modernizing Education and Healthcare, which we intend to discuss further at our business forums in the autumn.
For more information about our advocacy work, please contact AmCham Policy Officers.
The event was brought to you by British Telecom and Philip Morris International.
Please find more photos in the gallery.