US Treasury Secretary Paul O’Neill’s visit to Ukraine can be regarded as a quite significant event in polishing our bilateral relations. It was preceded by the emergence of the US Eximbank in Ukraine and the announcement that it would shortly start loaning money to US companies operating in this country. The bank’s Vice President Jeffrey Miller said in Kyiv that they were not imposing any restrictions on such loans and that their amounts would depend on the interested companies’ need. In a word, US capital is now working in Ukraine. It is safe to assume that the Eximbank’s decisions was made with the blessings of the secretary of the treasury, and that the latter was primarily concerned about the problems of his own country.
Not so long ago, the Senate adopted new, broader, and quite severe sanctions against business managers without conscience leading astray investors, causing an immediate avalanche at the stock exchange, with the dollar/yen rate reaching the lowest mark in the past nine months. A number of experts believe that the US financial status is quite complicated now and that the Americans must be looking for a way out of the situation, precisely where to invest to improve the US stock market.
Meanwhile, Paul O’Neill, looking considerably younger than his age (67), a veteran businessman and administrator, went on a long tour of the former Soviet empire — not to share American problems but to study and discover new promising markets for the US dollar that has lost some of its value. He landed in Boryspil Airport at 5 a.m. and already at 12:30 appeared at the Ukrainian Home in Kyiv to speak about the problems of democracy and market economy in the post- Soviet countries, specifically in Ukraine. Yet he had not a word about America’s hopes and desire to improve its status at the expense of a competitive national currency that had suddenly showed progress. Confidently, he proceeded to explain to the young Ukrainian market operators how to surmount bureaucratic barriers in the way of small and medium business; that the Ukrainian government must play fair, otherwise the market project will not work, urging investment in people, primary education, and fresh water. Although, in addition to running water and primary education, we need adequate sewers and post-secondary education. The fact remains that Ukraine has Europe’s largest number of researchers per capita.
However, the key inference this biased author made after listening to the number one US financier’s substantive report (permeated with respect for the Ukrainian people) is that American problems can be to our benefit. America is considering the possibilities of mass exports of its capital, which is more than relevant for an investment-hungry Ukraine.
Addressing US and Ukrainian businesspeople last Friday, the secretary of the treasury recalled that a fair political system, economic freedom, and investment are required for the success of the economy of any country, reports Interfax Ukraine. He further stated that the former Soviet republics are now among the countries showing the most dynamic progress. However, there is a large gap between the tremendous potential of this region and that which can be actually attained here. Mr. O’Neill discussed Ukraine’s economic development over the past several years, noting that this country has managed to take decisive steps forward in certain spheres, particularly by reducing the number of barter deals and upgrading the tax system; certain progress has been shown in terms of small and medium business. However, to affirm good GDP growth results, much remains to be done, particularly with regard to the land and banking reforms, stressed the secretary of the treasury.
