[1] After Romania left the Eastern Bloc in 1989, US-Romanian relations have matured into a strategic partnership that encompasses a wide range of political, military, economic and cultural issues.

Today, Romania is a strong ally of the United States, and the two countries work together to build democracy, fight terrorism, and promote regional security and stability.

[2] Another poll showed that a very large percentage of Romanians, 87%, want future US ambassadors to Bucharest to continue supporting the fight against corruption in Romania.

In 1839, the American consul to Constantinople urged the Department of State to form consular offices in the Danubian Principalities with the role of increasing trade in the Danube harbors.

[6] Before World War I, the Romanian imports to America were declared subject to the "most favored nation" clause in an executive order issued by President William Howard Taft.

[7] In 1918, Romania's situation was also addressed by President Woodrow Wilson in his Fourteen Points, where it was demanded that the occupying Central Powers armies should evacuate the country.

[14][15] After the war declaration, the United States led a bombing campaign over the country which aimed to knock out Romania's oil exports to Nazi Germany.

This status was renewed yearly after a congressional review confirmed a presidential determination that stated Romania was making progress toward freedom of emigration.

[18] In 1984, Romania became the only Warsaw Pact country to ignore the Soviet demands and participate in the Olympic Games held in Los Angeles that year.

[19] In the mid-1980s, criticism of Romania's deteriorating human rights record, particularly regarding the mistreatment of religious and ethnic minorities, spurred attempts by Congress to withdraw MFN status.

In 1988, to preempt congressional action, Ceaușescu renounced MFN treatment, calling Jackson-Vanik and other human rights requirements unacceptable interference in Romanian sovereignty.

[18] After welcoming the revolution of December 1989 with a visit by Secretary of State Baker in February 1990, the US Government expressed concern that opposition parties had faced discriminatory treatment in the May 1990 elections, in which the National Salvation Front won a sweeping victory.

The slow progress of subsequent political and economic reform increased that concern, and relations with Romania declined sharply after the June 1990 Mineriad, where an anti-NSF sit-in was suppressed by Romanian police.

The two countries initiated cooperation on shared goals, including economic and political development, defense reform, and non-traditional threats (such as trans-border crime and non-proliferation).

In December 2005, Secretary Rice visited Bucharest to meet with President Băsescu and to sign a bilateral defense cooperation agreement that would allow for the joint use of Romanian military facilities by US troops.

The United States and Romania are mutually committed to supporting human rights, strengthening the rule of law, and increasing prosperity in both countries.

Romania's promotion of greater cooperation among its Black Sea neighbors in the areas of defense, law enforcement, energy, economic development, and the environment complements the US goal of enhancing stability in this sensitive and vital region.

[6][21][22] In October 2013, the Romanian Government allowed the United States military to use the Mihail Kogălniceanu Air Base for US troop withdrawal from Afghanistan after the closure of the Transit Center at Manas.

Romania attracts US investors interested in accessing the European market, with relatively low costs and a well-educated, tech-savvy population being major draws.

In Romania, major US firms operate in the energy, manufacturing, information technology and telecommunications, services, and consumer products sectors.

The JTF-E concept was reduced to the Army-only Task Force East, but the base still retains an important role, given added weight by the annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation.

[39] In 2021, the base began modernization with the help of the United States through the William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 part of the European Deterrence Initiative program.