AmCham rejects PSD leader’s allegations that multinationals finance anti-govt. protests

The American Chamber of Commerce in Romania – AmCham Romania, which represents over 430 American, international and Romanian companies, rejected on Thursday the "tendentious accusations publicly addressed to multinational companies and their employees" by the leader of the Social Democratic Party (PSD) Liviu Dragnea. The PSD head said in a TV interview on Tuesday evening that some multinationals finance the anti-government #rezist movement and send their employees to protests as they are unhappy with the governing coalition’s decisions targeting them. He added that some international companies and banks want to make big profits in Romania but try to pay lower taxes by using various mechanisms to lower their tax base, something that the PSD-ALDE government has been trying to address. “Such speculations set a dangerous precedent for the Romanian democracy, sending intimidatory signals towards social movements and the private sector, negatively impacting the business climate and Romania’s overall external image, which, in its turn affects the reliance of Romania’s external partners on the country’s capacity to perform regional roles, such as the Romanian Presidency of the Council of the European Union in 2019,” reads AmCham’s statement. “As we have pointed on past occasions, such practices diminish the confidence in the Romanian investment climate and feeds the emigration phenomenon, already taking a tool on the labor market, while also deflecting the public scrutiny from Romania’ real, present and future priorities and vulnerabilities.” AmCham Romania also pointed out that such stands could lead to potential abuses in the state-large taxpayers’ relation. “We call for responsibility both in statements and actions of decision-makers and public officials, as well as for stopping to discriminate Romanian based on their employer,” the organization said. AmCham Romania represents in the private-public dialogue both large and small, entrepreneurial companies, that have contributed to the development of the Romanian economy through their cumulated investments of over USD 22 billion and over 250.000 jobs created in the country. The organization expressed its availability to continue to be an active contributor, through the expertize of its members, to the process to modernize and improve the legislative and fiscal legislation, by promoting recommendations and measures necessary for Romania’s sustainable economic development. Foreign investors in Romania worried about political attacks against multinationals editor@romania-insider.com (Photo source: Inquam Photos / Alberto Grosescu)