On May 19th, World Trade Week commenced with a forum on “Breaking Down Barriers to International Trade”. The venue was located at the Miami Free Zone; the foreign trade zone made for the perfect location to discuss global issues. The forum was hosted by Florida Governor Rick Scott. The panel included Lt. Governor Jennifer Carroll, Manny Mencia of Enterprise Florida and Bill Johnson of the Port of Miami. This was one of the better events that our team has attended recently. The forum consisted of eight speakers that addressed the panel with a testimony on their respective industry. Topics included logistics, distribution, shipping, importing and exporting, manufacturing, etc. Each presenter included trade barriers, industry challenges, recommendations and, most importantly, action steps. Both the panelists and the audience received a crash course in each industry. Some of the sponsors for the World Trade Week included Enterprise Florida, Miami Free Zone, Port of Miami, Seaboard Marine, World Trade Center Miami, Miami-Dade County, Sandler Travis & Rosenberg, CAMACOL, and more.
Some of the presentations that were made are listed below:
- Christine Boldt of the association of Floral Importers of Florida (AFIF) on duty treatment and expanded USDA hours.
- Bruce Brecheisen of Seaboard Marine on seaport modernization and logistics, distribution expansion.
- Jay Brickman of Crowley Maritime on FDA perishables process and cold treatment, fumigation procedures.
Lt. Governor Carroll was most impressive how she listened to each testimony and focused on action items to assist each industry. All businessmen were encouraged to bring up other concerns with state of Florida representatives. A definite take away from the event is that now is the time for Floridians to take action against government barriers and taxes that are destructive to business growth and job creation. For more information on Florida Governor Rick Scott’s “Florida: open for business” campaign visit www.rickscottforflorida.com
To view the list of other upcoming events for World Trade Week in Miami, be sure to visit www.worldtrade.org
This is exactly the type of event and topic that the ComReal Miami industrial team participates with on a regular basis. Just a couple days afterward, we reached a successful agreement with one of our clients and the landlord of 100,000 sq. ft. warehouse space in Miami-Dade County, Florida. Our client is in the online sales business from the state of New York. They will relocate over twenty new workers to South Florida. After the deal is formally finalized, this will be a great case study as a proof of concept of Florida’s mission: “Let’s get to work!”