Americans are interested in developing cooperation with Poland and they encourage Polish companies to invest in the U.S. In the last decade Poland’s trade with the U.S. has quadrupled to $7.5bn a year. In the recent 20 years US businesses have invested in Poland over $20bn, yet in per-capita terms this is less than in the Czech Republic or in Hungary.
Rebecca M. Blank, the Acting U.S. Secretary of Commerce, declared on Wednesday in Warsaw that the U.S. intended to increase its involvement in Poland, in particular in the energy sector, information technology, aviation and [civil] nuclear technology. She was participating, alongside experts and entrepreneurs already doing business in Poland, in the summing-up of a Polish-American economic summit. The idea of a “business roundtable” was put forward a year ago, in May, by President Barack Obama during his visit in Poland. The meeting, attended by representatives of the both governments, was organised by the American Chamber of Commerce in Poland, the Polish Confederation of Private Employers Lewiatan and the US Poland Business Council.
During the Wednesday meeting energy and shale gas extraction figured prominently in the debate. Representatives of major U.S. [energy] groups emphasised their continued interest interested in cooperation on unconventional gas exploration and they stressed that ExxonMobil’s recent decision to withdraw from Poland was an isolated case dictated by business considerations alone. Representatives of large U.S. fuel groups were advised that the Polish government was finalising work on legislative solutions designed to open the way to investment in the strategically important energy sector.
During the summit Mielec-based PZL [aircraft manufacturer] and Sikorsky Aircraft signed an agreement on the production of the fuselage, empennage, and wings for Black Hawk helicopters produced to orders from the U.S. military. The value of this conditional five-year agreement could be as high as US$350m. The U.S. administration encourages Polish businesses to invest in the US. Innovative technology investment in particular can count on support and tax facilitations in the US.
During the Polish-American economic summit Wiesław Prugar, President of the ORLEN Upstream Management Board, took part in a panel on shale gas.
Source: Rzeczpospolita, 21 June 2012.