Hungary and US to agree on economic cooperation package, PM Orban says

BUDAPEST (Reuters) - Hungary and the United States volition hold connected an economical practice bundle that volition assistance the Hungarian system and could offset the effect of imaginable U.S. tariffs, Prime Minister Viktor Orban said connected Saturday.

Orban, a long-time protagonist of U.S. President Donald Trump, said that the economical bundle would grow connected the already existing governmental confederation betwixt Hungary and the United States.

The Hungarian PM said that specified an economical statement would assistance Hungary adjacent if a commercialized warfare betwixt the U.S. and the European Union breaks out.

U.S. President Donald Trump said past week that his medication would soon denote a 25% tariff connected goods from the EU, which the Republican person said had been created to "screw" the United States.

"Hungary volition endure losses [in a commercialized war], conscionable similar each European Union subordinate states. We bash not yet cognize its extent, but we tin beryllium definite that it volition happen," Orban said astatine the yearly league of the Hungarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

He added that Hungary has a bully accidental of reaching an statement with Washington, and that the bundle needs to beryllium capable to restrict oregon wholly negate the effect of a imaginable commercialized warfare wrong Hungary.

Hungarian officials are already negotiating the renewal of a taxation pact betwixt the 2 countries that was terminated by the erstwhile American administration, Orban said.

Other elements of the statement volition assistance Hungary to "offset, astatine a nationalist economical level, the losses caused by U.S. tariffs imposed connected Europe and volition supply compensation some successful monetary and existent economical terms."

Although Central and Eastern Europe's nonstop commercialized vulnerability to the U.S. was limited, maturation prospects were apt to beryllium deed done the German car assemblage if the 25% tariffs projected by Trump travel into effect, S&P Global Ratings told Reuters.

(Reporting by Anita Komuves; Editing by Sharon Singleton and Louise Heavens)