The American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) in Bulgaria is a non-governmental organisation promoting relations between U.S. and Bulgarian business entities. Since its establishment in 1995, the membership of the chamber has grown rapidly and so has its influence on U.S.-Bulgarian economic ties.

Over the years, AmCham has supported the entry of foreign companies into Bulgaria and helped them establish relations with domestic businesses. "U.S. and foreign companies use AmCham as a one-stop shopping place for information on doing business in Bulgaria," said Philip Philipoff, executive director of AmCham.

In this respect, Motorola is a good and recent example. Earlier this year, representatives of the telecommunications giant approached the chamber inquiring about the possibility of setting up an office in Sofia. AmCham provided them with legal support towards setting up a representative office. "We expect them to announce the opening very soon," said Philipoff.

Another illustration is the promotion of the Southeast Europe Project Databank - maintained by the Bulgarian Foreign Investment Agency - on the web page of AmCham and its printed publications. Through this databank, prospective U.S. investors have access to information on investment openings in the region - more than 100 projects in 22 sectors of the economy.

Recently, the membership of the chamber has grown significantly. "In 2000, some 45 companies and institutions joined AmCham, thus increasing the total number of our members to 185," said Philipoff. "And we expect to race past 200 very soon," he added.

Members of the chamber cover virtually all industries. In the financial sector, some of the most prominent names include Citibank, KPMG, and American Life Insurance. In telecommunications, there is Global One and MCI Worldcom. In technology, there is IBM, Oracle and Microsoft. In the energy sector, members include AES and Entergy. World industrial equipment leaders like General Electric and Honeywell, as well as healthcare giants Bristol-Myers Squibb, Merck and Pfizer are also part of the organisation.

AmCham has had an effect on economic developments in Bulgaria through lobbying. It does this by organising meetings with Bulgarian government members and representatives of related institutions. "We actively support changes in the economic legislature that would improve the business climate in the country. In this respect, our organisation has lobbied for lower tax rates," said Philipoff. Here AmCham was quite successful - by the end of last year, the government announced that income tax would be lowered to 20 per cent.

But AmCham's efforts have not been focused entirely on the Bulgarian government. The organisation has tried to shape U.S. economic policy towards the country. A hot topic here is avoiding double taxation.

The Bulgarian government announced its intentions towards signing an agreement to prevent double taxation long ago and it has been up to the U.S. government to push the issue forward. In order to help provide an argument for the case before the U.S. Department of Commerce, AmCham is currently making a survey of its members. "If AmCham members indicate that double taxation is an issue that concerns them, the Department of Commerce is likely to start a procedure for signing an agreement with Bulgaria," said Philipoff.

AmCham has become one of the most effective lobbyists in Bulgaria. It has achieved this status by acting in a manner very different from that of other interest groups. Unlike its peers, AmCham has rarely been in the media spotlight. "We prefer to do our business in private," said Philipoff. "The media is a pressure mechanism, and we don't want to put pressure on the government. Our relations with the current government are very good."