Premier Ewart Brown yesterday sent a congratulatory letter to President-Elect Barack Obama, stressing the "critical role" the Island continues to play in the US economy.

And Dr. Brown also offered to help strengthen ties between Bermuda and the US, saying that both countries have benefited from a 400-year-partnership in the area of tourism, insurance, health care and education.

"I look forward to working with your administration on strengthening those ties, particularly insurance, which plays a critical role in keeping home owner insurance affordable for Americans living in the path of hurricanes in states like Louisiana, Texas and Florida," he said.

"For example, Bermuda-based insurance and reinsurance companies have paid out $30 billion in claims to US policyholders between 2001 and 2008 to cover catastrophic events.

"In the New Year your administration will have a robust agenda that requires urgent attention.

"Wherever that agenda might involve Bermuda, I stand ready to assist you reach your objectives while also protecting the interests of Bermudians.

"It's a mutually satisfying objective that our two countries have been able to successfully meet for four centuries."

Sen. Obama campaigned heavily on his desire to "shut down the tax havens".

The President-Elect has also described Bermuda as an "offshore secrecy jurisdiction" in legislation with Sen. Carl Levine and Sen. Norm Coleman.

The Stop Tax Havens Abuse Act names Bermuda and 33 other jurisdictions, including Cayman Islands, Hong Kong and Switzerland.

The US Treasury already has the authority under the Patriot Act to impose financial sanctions on jurisdictions found to be "of primary money laundering concern".

The President-Elect's proposed bill would broaden those powers to include jurisdictions considered to be "impeding US tax enforcement".

However a bill causing more concern in Bermuda is one put forward by Representative Richard Neal, of Massachusetts, aimed at "ending the advantage of offshore reinsurance entities over American companies".

When he introduced the bill in September, Rep. Neal said the amount of reinsurance ceded to offshore affiliates had grown from $4 billion in 1996 to $34 billion in 2007.

Of that, he said $19 billion had gone to Bermuda affiliates.

Chairman of the Association of Bermuda International Companies (ABIC) David Ezekiel, has expressed doubt that Sen. Obama's promise will translate into a blow for Bermuda's economy, stating that tax benefits aren't the only reason American companies come to the Island.