During the four years of Joe Biden’s presidency, Hungarian-American relations clearly reached their lowest point in the past forty years. During the 2021–2025 presidential term, numerous political scandals strained relations between the two countries, such as the termination of the double taxation agreement, the sanctioning of a Hungarian government official, and the tightening of entry rules. Subsequently, with Donald Trump’s return, not only did a special and close political relationship develop between Hungary and the United States, but a new golden age also began in the field of economic cooperation. In 2025, investment flowing from America into Hungary broke a record that had stood for over a decade, and cooperation in the financial and defence industries strengthened. With Donald Trump’s re-election, a paradigm shift occurred in the United States not only in domestic but also in foreign policy. The export of democracy championed by the Democrats was replaced by a strategy of global peacemaking. Hungary is also a beneficiary of the United States’ interest-based foreign policy, as, in addition to eliminating the uncertainties caused by wars, the peace initiatives underway on Europe’s periphery are also alleviating migration pressure.
Value of US investment hits ten-year record
The inflow of US foreign capital into Hungary has broken records in recent years, though data for 2025 is not yet available. However, it is expected that the level of US investment reached a new record last year, which fits in with the Hungarian government’s reindustrialisation programme. In contrast, the announcement of significant investments came at a time when, on the one hand, capital is flowing back to the United States thanks to Donald Trump’s trade policy, and on the other hand, it is becoming less profitable for American companies to invest abroad due to the deliberate weakening of the dollar. In 2025, according to data compiled by the Hungarian Investment Promotion Agency (HIPA), 16 major US companies announced developments that will create 800 high-value-added jobs.
- Procter & Gamble, a US consumer goods manufacturer, launched a €200 million investment last November at its sites in Csömör and Gyöngyös. The company, which employs more than 2,000 people, is expanding its production capacity as well as its product range in Hungary, whilst also investing in green energy to promote sustainability.
- Formlabs, a US-based market leader in 3D printing, is making a €1.7 million investment. The company, which has Hungarian ties, is establishing a product development centre.
- Scrub Daddy launched a further €3.8 million investment in December. The company, which manufactures environmentally conscious cleaning products and tools, is creating 140 jobs through its development in Csongrád-Csanád county.
- In the industrial park near Tatabánya, one of the world’s leading medical technology companies, Beckton Dickinson, is expanding its manufacturing capacity. The high-value-added investment, worth a total of €42.2 million, will create 100 jobs.
- The US-Singaporean company Flex is carrying out a €4.68 million development project in automotive electronics at its Zalaegerszeg plant, creating ten high-value-added jobs.
- GE Vernova has announced a €22.5 million development at its Veresegyház plant, making this site the US company’s second-largest outside the United States.
- US-based Tulip Interfaces is launching a €5.8 million R&D investment at its Budapest headquarters. Thanks to this investment, the number of engineers employed will increase by more than 50 per cent.
- Emerson, a company specialising in industrial automation, is creating 50 jobs through two new investments totalling €6.2 million.
- Janus Henderson, a British-American firm managing assets worth twice Hungary’s GDP on a global scale, has committed to creating 400 high-value-added jobs through its latest investment announced last year.
- Support Services Group, a provider of international business services, has also committed to creating 75 jobs through a €2.5 million investment.
- In autumn 2025, it was announced that the New Orleans-based fast-food chain Popeyes would begin expanding into Hungary.
The 1,600 American companies currently operating in Hungary have created high-value-added jobs and employ more than 100,000 people. This figure is outstanding even at a regional level; by way of comparison, there are only 1,400 US-owned companies operating in Poland. Although specific figures have not yet been published, approximately €500 million in US investment flowed into Hungary last year, representing an unprecedented inflow of capital over the past decade. We have covered the diplomatic history of Hungarian-American relations in detail in this article, and FDI flows and trade relations in recent years in this one. Last year, several Hungarian companies broke into the US market. The best-known example is the fast-food chain Simon’s Burger, which opened a restaurant in New York.
The impact of protectionist trade policy
The main aim of Donald Trump’s tariff policy is to transform the trade system. As part of this, he seeks to improve the US’s foreign trade balance, bring manufacturing capacity back home at least in strategically significant sectors, and curb the economic growth potential of the global challenger, China. Although the tariff policy has long-term benefits for the United States, the trade agreement concluded by Ursula von der Leyen last summer is detrimental to Europe. Whilst the EU leadership let down the European car industry in particular during the negotiations, our membership of the customs union has provided some assistance to Hungary. According to the calculation formula used by Donald Trump, a 33 per cent tariff should have been imposed on Hungarian exports, rather than the standard 15 per cent.
The infographic can be found here: https://public.flourish.studio/visualisation/29469462/
In 2025, imports from the United States to Hungary increased by an average of 3.8 per cent per month, whilst trade in the opposite direction fell by 2.7 per cent. Hungary’s main exports to the US were motor vehicles, pharmaceutical products, car parts and electrical equipment, such as batteries. The US mainly sold computers, mobile phones, gas turbines, office equipment and medical products to Hungary.
Clearing up Biden’s legacy
Under pressure from former US Ambassador David Pressman, the US placed Antal Rogán, a member of the Hungarian government, on its sanctions list, just two weeks before Donald Trump’s second inauguration. Less than three months after Trump took office, the Hungarian politician was removed from the Magnitsky list, which prohibits entry into the US and allows for the freezing of US assets. The United States justified the lifting of the ban on the minister heading the Prime Minister’s Cabinet Office by stating that the charges against him were unfounded and purely politically motivated.
In 2021, Joe Biden’s administration introduced restrictions on Hungarian passports, denying ESTA approvals to Hungarian citizens born abroad, citing security risks. In 2023, it further tightened the Visa Waiver Program by reducing the validity of ESTA authorisations from two years to one year and limiting them to a single entry for all Hungarian citizens. The possibility of Hungary being excluded from the program entirely was not ruled out. The Biden administration’s tightening of the rules adversely affected the approximately 80,000 to 100,000 Hungarian citizens who travel to the United States each year. Following Trump’s re-election, this politically motivated measure was repealed in early October, meaning that, like citizens of other European countries, Hungarians can now obtain a visa valid for two years allowing for unlimited entry. Donald Trump also cut off political funding to Hungary last year, which had predominantly gone to organisations engaged in political activism, thereby influencing domestic public life.
Hungarian-American summit
On 7 November 2025, accompanied by five ministers, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán travelled to the US capital for his sixth official meeting with President Donald Trump. At the Washington summit, a number of political agreements were concluded on economic cooperation, defence procurement, the purchase of nuclear fuel and financial cooperation. The most significant outcome of the talks, however, was the exemption from sanctions for the oil and gas pipelines coming into Hungary, which makes it possible to maintain the utility cost reduction programme.
Defence industry cooperation
With Donald Trump taking office, Hungarian-American relations have gained new momentum, which is clearly evident in the field of defence cooperation too. Military and defence industry ties, which had been restrained under the previous administration for political and ideological reasons, have deepened at an extremely rapid pace over the past year, signalling that security policy has once again become a key common ground between Washington and Budapest.
The change is most evident in the lifting, on the American side, of the restrictions that had long hindered Hungary’s access to the most advanced military technologies. During Viktor Orbán and Donald Trump’s meeting in Washington in November, the parties confirmed that the Hungarian government intends to purchase defence equipment worth $700 million through an intergovernmental agreement. The first major procurement would enhance the Hungarian Defence Forces’ rocket-firing capabilities through the purchase of the HIMARS (High Mobility Artillery Rocket System), a long-range, precision rocket system developed by Lockheed Martin. Hungary could acquire around 20–25 artillery systems and 100 rockets, which is precisely the ideal quantity given the size and level of ambition of the Hungarian Defence Forces.
The fact that relations between Budapest and Washington in the defence sector have once again risen to a strategic level is demonstrated not only by the possibility of these procurements, but also by the defence industry cooperation that is already taking shape. The United States therefore views Hungary not merely as a customer seeking to purchase defence technology, but as a long-term industrial and technological partner. In December, 4iG Space and Defence Technologies (4iG SDT) signed two preliminary agreements with leading US defence industry players. On the one hand, it signed a preliminary cooperation agreement with Northrop Grumman Corporation, which establishes a framework for exploring joint projects and industrial initiatives in the fields of drone countermeasures, modern weapon systems, and advanced defence and space technologies. This may include joint development, but also manufacturing in Hungary. On the other hand, 4iG SDT has also signed an agreement with Lockheed Martin Global Inc.’s missile technology and artillery division. The focus of this agreement is not only on the integration of the aforementioned system in Hungary, but the parties will also identify new defence industry projects through the establishment of a joint professional body.
The two agreements with the American defence industry giants can be regarded as milestones for Hungarian military development and the Hungarian defence ecosystem, from both an economic and a strategic perspective. Technology transfer, joint development and the establishment of NATO-compatible manufacturing capacities could provide a unique opportunity for Hungarian companies to join the value chains of the most advanced defence technologies. All this also indicates that, with Trump’s second presidency, relations between the two countries in the field of security policy can once again be built on a long-term partnership.
Hungary’s role in Trump’s peace projects
One of the most striking features of Donald Trump’s approach to foreign policy is that he is not interested in the long-term management of conflicts, but rather in bringing them to a swift conclusion. This approach differs sharply from previous Western practice, which was based on crisis management and maintaining the status quo, and has yielded tangible results particularly in the Middle East. Hungary has welcomed Trump’s peace efforts from the very outset and, where possible, actively supports them. Budapest has long emphasised that the circumstances which trigger illegal migration from the Middle East to Europe can be most effectively alleviated by increasing stability in the region and addressing its problems locally. The president clearly regards Hungary, which consistently advocates a peace-oriented stance, as a partner, just as he did during his previous term. In 2020, the Hungarian foreign minister was officially invited to the signing of the Abraham Accords in Washington. In 2025, Viktor Orbán was invited to the Sharm El-Sheikh peace summit on the settlement of the Gaza war, which brought key regional players and mediating states to the table with European allies prioritised by Washington. And in January this year, the Hungarian Prime Minister was also invited to join the Board of Peace. Earlier, at an international press conference, Viktor Orbán did not rule out the deployment of Hungarian peacekeepers as part of the International Stabilisation Force to be established in Gaza.
A similar partnership emerged between Washington and Budapest over the past year regarding the Russian-Ukrainian war. Hungary – in proportion to its own geopolitical weight – is endeavouring to use all its influence to facilitate the resolution of the conflict, and has proposed Budapest as the venue for negotiations between the warring parties, a proposal which the United States has accepted. It is therefore conceivable that the Hungarian capital will provide the venue for bringing the most serious European war of the 21st century to a close.
David Nagy is a political analyst, security and defense policy expert. He holds a degree in International Security and Defense Policy from the National University of Public Service in Budapest with international experience gained at the University of Haifa.
David began his career as a research fellow at the Danube Institute, then He worked as a consultant at EuroAtlantic Consulting & Investment Plc, leading the analyst department. Currently, he works as a geopolitical analyst at the Oeconomus Economic Research Foundation.
His primary research focuses on the geopolitics and security policies of Central Europe and the Middle East, with a special focus on Israel.
