Most Americans are unaware of the benefits that the business relationship between Bermuda and the US to them and how it impacts their jobs.

That is according to Eric Sedler, a managing partner at ASK Public Strategies, a communication management firm based inChicago, who has come up with a public education campaign on the US-Bermuda business relationship and spoke at the Bermuda International Business Association (BIBA) conference held last week at the Fairmont Hamilton Princess hotel last week.

His findings revealed that most Americans were confused by Bermuda and the US business relations and were concerned by a tax structure that favours domiciled companies over those that are based in America.The study also showed that US citizens did not respond favourably to hedge funds inBermuda investing their money in the US, but while initially sceptical, could be persuaded that the current US-Bermuda business relationship resulted in a net benefit for the American economy.

But the research concluded that the Island had a unique opportunity to define Americans' perceptions of the US-Bermuda business relationship through a public education advertising campaign, focusing on Bermuda companies' role in protecting American jobs and growing the US economy.

The survey, which was conducted among six focus groups of eight people in New York and WashingtonDC, including financial and business elites in New York City comprising high net-worth investors and financial analysts, corporate leaders in finance and international business and policy elites inWashington made up of Democratic and Republican think tank experts, regulators and aides, surmised that a print, digital and television advertising campaign could be used to good effect to educate the American people as to the benefits of the Bermuda-US business links.

Speaking at the same Speaking at the same event was Darlene Richeson, president of Darlene Richeson & Associates, a government affairs, political strategy and business development firm, who talked about the work Bermuda has been doing to lobby Washington about its importance to the US economy and in the re/insurance market.

She started by reassuring delegates that the Neal Bill for the Introduction of Reinsurance Tax Legislation, put forward in the US House of Representatives by Democrat Congressman Richard Neal, was a long way from coming to fruition and needed to clear a number of hurdles before it became law, having to be re-introduced as legislation this year before going in front of the House Ways and Means sub and full committees, then the full House of Representatives and the Senate and finally the President.

Ms Richeson said there had been an increase in the lobbying activity in Washington following the 2006 US elections coinciding with the appointment of a new leadership in Bermuda during the same year, but there was still room for improvement in the education process.

"Most of the members and staff don't know what reinsurance is," she said.

"The fact that it is one of the number one industries in Bermuda is something that they need to educated on."

She added that Premier Ewart Brown had met with 50 members of Congress onCapitol Hill over the first quarter of 2007, along with Finance Minister Paula Cox and FinancialSecretary Donald Scott, who had made regular visits on business there, while Bermuda was a member of the Non-US Lobbying Team which formed to fight negative tax legislation impacting a number of companies based on the Island, in addition to setting up a Bermuda office in the American capital, which is set to open in September.

Meanwhile, plans are afoot for Cheryl Packwood, CEOof BIBA,to follow up a Bermuda delegation's bi-lateral DC visits with a trip to Capitol Hill next month to discuss the Bermuda Economic Impact Study which was released last week at the conference.