Hungarian Foreign Minister Meets With U.S. Commerce Secretary

Hungarian and U.S. officials discuss world trade

Hungary’s government is an advocate of removing trade barriers and making the world economy as free as possible since the performance of the country’s economy is largely dependent on exports, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó told state news service MTI after meeting with U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Smith in Washington DC. The freer world trade is, the easier for countries in Central Europe to perform well, Szijjártó told Ross. The policies of the U.S. government are instrumental for ensuring that world trade is free and unhindered. The biggest players in the world are the United States, China and the European Union, and there are trade conflicts between them that may spark global trade wars, the minister said. There is hope that instead of global trade wars a period of world trade agreements will ensue over the coming months and years, he added. Szijjártó stressed during his meeting with Ross that U.S. measures affecting the automotive industry could have a negative impact on the performance of the Central European and Hungarian automotive industry as well. The car industry accounts for 30% of Hungary’s overall industrial output. The U.S. is the second-largest foreign investor in Hungary after Germany, and the 1,700 American businesses present in the country employ more than 105,000 Hungarians. The volume of bilateral trade has increased over recent years and is now more than USD 5.5 billion, with America being Hungary’s largest export market after the European Union.