Florida Chamber’s International Days Focuses on Making Florida More Competitive
Global Economic Opportunities Takes Center Stage
International businesses leaders joined forces today at the Florida Chamber of Commerce’s International Days to focus on making Florida more competitive through global economic opportunities. Leaders from Shanghai to Canada, representatives from Fortune 500 companies and Florida’s 15 deep water seaports, the state’s leading economic development and transportation agencies are taking part in the state’s premier international event.
Florida Lt. Governor Carlos Lopez-Cantera and Secretary of Commerce Bill Johnson spoke to a packed house at the 2015 Florida Chamber International Days event in Tallahassee, FL.
Global trade is big business in Florida. International business and foreign direct investments accounts for about 17 percent of Florida’s economic activity and supports more than one million Florida jobs. Florida is also home to more than 60,000 firms dedicated to bringing their goods and services to consumers around the globe – many of them small to medium sized businesses.
“It’s Florida’s time because we are in the right position, we have the right culture, we have the right infrastructure,” said Lee Sandler, chair of the Florida Chamber’s International Business Council. “So Florida, and Floridian companies, are really in a position to take advantage of the global economy in ways we didn’t have available before.”
In Florida, global trade means high-wage jobs and economic prosperity. According to a recent Florida Chamber Foundation Did You Know, Florida is the seventh largest exporter of state-origin products.
“Florida has come a long way in building international economic development efforts, but our work is far from over,” said Doug Davidson, Market Executive of Global Commercial Banking at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. “At Bank of America, we support the Florida Chamber Foundation’s research in trade and logistics because we know that Florida’s future lies in being globally competitive.
Lt. Governor Carlos Lopez-Cantera and Secretary of Commerce Bill Johnson kicked-off the two-day event, and additional speakers will include Secretary of Transportation Jim Boxold, along with keynote speakers: Fredrik Eliasson, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, CSX Transportation, and John Murphy, Senior Vice President for International Policy at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
A complete line up of panels and speakers is located here.
Follow the Event Online:
Be sure to visit the Florida Chamber’s Facebook and Twitter pages to see and read what’s happening at the event, or search for #intldays15