Business leaders express trade concerns to Utah delegation

Members of Utah’s congressional delegaion met with 40 business leaders last week to discuss the importance of foreign trade to Utah’s economy. At an event sponsored and hosted by World Trade Center Utah (WTC Utah), representatives Jason Chaffetz, Mia Love and Chris Stewart joined the business Reps. and Gov. Gary Herbert in the discussion.

“In Utah, international business is big business and a critical element of the state’s robust economy,” said Derek B. Miller, president and CEO of WTC Utah. “Yesterday’s meeting connected Utah’s economic drivers — its companies — with policy makers. This kind of collaboration is what makes the state’s economy one of the strongest in the nation.”

The business leaders in attendance represented both large and small companies. One technology entrepreneur talked about how he relied on export resources at WTC Utah and the U.S. Commercial Service when he was just getting his business started. He stressed the need to spread awareness of these services to all areas of the state.

According to a release from WTC Utah, attendees at the meeting, to which neither the public nor the press was invited, voiced concerns about the anti-trade and anti-immigration rhetoric in Washington, D.C. A representative from a Utah company stressed the importance of finding employees with the right skills either through training or recruitment internationally. He said that a lack of skilled labor will reduce productivity and hinder economic growth. Another individual said that his company exports almost 90 percent of its products outside the U.S. and asked the congressional representatives to be aware of how other countries could respond to isolationist policies and trade barriers from the U.S. 

The main sentiment shared at the event was a desire to continue to promote and grow Utah’s international business efforts. One company’s CEO asked the delegation to look for ways to propel the international economy forward, referencing ongoing efforts to research the viability of creating an inland port in Utah.

At the conclusion of the event, Miller expressed appreciation to the representatives for their engagement. He emphasized that Utah is fortunate to have House members who take time to listen to entrepreneurs, small-business owners and community leaders, and incorporate the messages into their policy decisions and lawmaking responsibilities in Congress.

In 2016, Utah exported $12.1 billion worth of goods. More than 3,500 companies export from Utah. An estimated 85 percent of these companies are small- to medium-sized businesses. About 22 percent of all jobs in Utah are supported by international business, according to statistics for the state.