US footprint in Romania: USD 1 bln corporate investments, USD 1.1 bln Govt. contributions

US direct investments to Romania have reached USD 1 billion since 1990, with nearly 100 American companies having invested in the country in the last 21 years, according to data from the US Embassy to Romania.

“Romanians believed that the Americans were coming to Romania during the dark days of World War II and after the Iron Curtain fell across Europe. We Americans were not able to come then, but since the fall of communism we have been making up for lost time,” said Mark Gitenstein, the US Ambassador to Romania.

These investments are primarily in the areas of information technology, automotive, food and agriculture, banking, insurance, hospitality, investment funds, manufacturing and consumer products. The U.S. is ranked 10th in foreign investment by the Government of Romania, after the Netherlands, Austria, Germany, France, Greece, Cyprus, Italy, Switzerland and Spain. Some of the US investors to Romania are General Electric, Ford, Coca Cola, Citibank, Cargill, Bunge, Microsoft, IBM, HP, Honeywell Garrett, Visa, UPC, Smithfield Foods, Procter & Gamble. The US Governmental contributions amounted to USD 1.1 billion to Romania, since 1960. The US has offered USD 8.8 million in Fulbright scholarships since 1960. The US Agency for International development (USAID) contributed with more than USD 620 million between 1990 and 2008, according to US Embassy data. The US Department of Defense's contribution reached USD 340 million, which went to humanitarian assistance and community projects. The US department of Justice and the FBI contributed with USD 4.6 million since 2007. On a daily basis, the FBI and the Romanian Police work hand-in-hand to combat the most serious crime impacting Romania and the United States, according to the Embassy. The FBI and Romanian Police have partnered in over 100 joint investigations on a variety of crimes which have resulted in the arrest of 341 subjects in Romania. So far, more than 50 of those arrested were convicted by Romanian Courts and in excess of USD 1.2 million was ordered in restitution for victims. One example of cooperation between the FBI and Romanian Police is the investigation of an organized crime group operating in Romania and in the U.S. that defrauded more than 1,000 U.S. victims of approximately USD 3 million via Internet fraud schemes. In April 2010, 700 Romanian Police officers, with assistance from the FBI, arrested 50 members of this organization and executed 100 search warrants. Over 60 US based NGOs have contributed around USD 203 million to Romanian projects. These include the The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, IREX-Biblionet program, Habitat for Humanity, Romanian American Foundation, Junior Achievement, United Way, Open Society Institute (Soros Foundation), among others. editor@romania-insider.com