The partnership with the United States is a strategic one from the viewpoint of investments and the method of administering businesses, acting Prime Minister Vlad Filat said in the opening of a seminar centering on the business opportunities offered by the U.S. government. According to Vlad Filat, Moldova now has two priorities in the relations with the U.S.: to create appropriate conditions for U.S. investments and to penetrate the U.S. market that has a great purchasing capacity, with competitive products of a high quality, IPN reports.
Vlad Filat stressed that the establishment of commercial and investment relations became much more visible since the Jackson-Vanik amendment for Moldova was cancelled.
The U.S. Government offers a series of financing and assistance programs for the small and medium-sized companies operating in Moldova. The success of such companies resides in the designation of a long-term plan, said U.S. Ambassador to Moldova William Moser. He also said that the U.S. and Moldova do not have a treaty on the avoidance of double taxation. The post-Socialist countries that followed this path went through a process of several years. The liberalization of trade would be an important step in the economic relations. “I would like to be able to purchase a Moldovan wine of a high quality in the U.S.,” he stated.
Cristina Harea, head of the American Chamber of Commerce in Moldova, said that most of the U.S. companies now do not invest directly in Moldova. They prefer to use European jurisdictions for doing business. “The businessmen are pragmatic. They choose to do business in the jurisdictions that offer the greatest legal protection and the most flexible taxation regime,” she said.
Trade between Moldova and the United States last year increased. Among the areas in which the Americans invest are agriculture, light industry, wine industry, and telecommunications.
The seminar “Doing Business with the U.S.” was organized by the American Chamber of Commerce. The seminar’s invitees included representatives of the U.S. Embassy and the Embassy of Romania and businesspeople from the country and abroad.
