AmCham Slovakia

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Trade and Investment

A consistent voice of the Slovak business community

(by Patrik Tomeš)

The main mission of AmCham Slovakia is to serve as the voice of the local business community and to work relentlessly on improving the business environment in Slovakia. In order to represent the business community, one must know its concerns and struggles, and be familiar with the conditions it exists in, as well as with its dreams and ambitions. In short, it is necessary to be part of that community.

Todd Bradshaw elected President of AmCham Slovakia

(by Patrik Tomeš)

Todd Bradshaw, Country Managing Partner of PricewaterhouseCoopers Slovakia (PwC) and Public Sector leader for PwC CEE, has been elected as the new President of AmCham Slovakia.

TTIP: opening up transatlantic potential to Slovak SMEs

(by Patrik Tomeš)

Recently published data confirm that Slovakia’s economy accelerated in the final quarter of 2015, resulting in the fastest growth since 2010. In the long run, TTIP represents another great opportunity that will largely contribute to further growth of Slovak companies.      

TTIP – A Revolution in Resolution of Investment Disputes

(by Patrik Tomeš)

Recent developments in the Resolution of Investment Disputes (RID) indicate that significant changes altering its nature are just around the corner. While the European Union has already outlined its thoughts on RID in its free trade agreements with Singapore and Canada, its currently negotiated free trade agreement with the United States, the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), is even more progressive. What can we expect from the proposed changes? 

Going global: trade and the digital economy

(by Patrik Tomeš)

The ability for information to flow across borders will continue to be increasingly important to economic growth as all businesses are dependent on the flow of digital, cloud-based information. To realize the full benefits on the digital economy, we need interoperability of rules across borders that trade agreements can deliver.

CETA: new opportunities for Slovak and Canadian businesses

(by Patrik Tomeš)

The Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) is Canada’s and the EU’s most ambitious trade agreement ever, covering the full range of elements that shape modern international trade, including goods, services, investment, intellectual property, government procurement, regulatory cooperation, non-tariff measures, and more.

The real impact of the EU-Ukraine trade deal

(by Patrik Tomeš)

In the last three years, little has changed in Ukraine. It is still suffering from the geopolitical situation in the region. Those with experience with the Ukrainian market understand that not every agreement will have the intended impact on real life. On 1 January 2016, one of the EU’s most ambitious bilateral agreements yet entered into provisional application. 

Investing and doing business in Slovakia: What can be done better?

(by Patrik Tomeš)

AmCham’s second Foreign Direct Investors Survey was carried out in cooperation with EY, building on a previous report from 2009. The goal of this survey was to identify current conditions and barriers to foreign investors doing business in the Slovak Republic.

U.S. extends work visas for Slovak citizens

(by Patrik Tomeš)

Starting from January 2016, a reciprocal extension of work visas between The United States of America and Slovakia came into effect. We talked to Selena Nelson-Salcedo, Consular Chief at the Embassy of the United States of America in Bratislava, who was directly involved in the discussions of this agreement with partners from the Ministry of Labor of the Slovak Republic.

What needs to be improved to increase our country’s potential?

(by Patrik Tomeš)

Numerous factors are likely to influence productivity in each country, but for investors it is crucial to understand how some of the major elements evolve over time and how the potential country of their future investment performs when compared to its peers.  

John Dopyera – the inventor of the Dobro

(by Patrik Tomeš)

In cooperation with the web portal osobnosti.sk, we created a special section in Connection dedicated to introducing interesting personalities of Slovak origin who moved to the United States and through their work and passion made a name for themselves. Some of them are famous in Slovakia as well, some of them are almost unknown. Osobnosti.sk aims to promote Slovak personalities who have made a real impact in their field and who have the potential to inspire many others.

Going global remains a challenge for Slovak SMEs

(by Patrik Tomeš)

There have been many discussions, committees established and steps undertaken in support of Slovak SMEs´ internationalization in recent years. However, the exports of SMEs in 2014 only represented 29% of the total exports of Slovak companies. Moreover, only 5% of SMEs undertake exports in Slovakia (compared to 64% of large companies). Over 89% of Slovak SMEs’ exports were intra-EU (compared to 81% for large companies). Over 10% of SMEs’ exports were outside the EU (compared to 19% for large companies). 

Iran´s nuclear-related sanctions lifted

(by Patrik Tomeš)

Saturday, 16 January 2016, was the “Implementation Day” under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (the JCPOA), triggering the lifting of all economic and financial sanctions taken in connection with the Iranian nuclear program by United States, the European Union and United Nations Security Council (UNSC).

Education for employment – talent development in Global Business Services (GBS)

(by Patrik Tomeš)

Shared services is a rapidly-developing business model that has become a major component of financial transformation for businesses. The industry currently employs more than 750,000 finance professionals around the world, and it looks set to grow into the future as well.