It’s vital to keep trade working for Florida. Here’s why.
International trade is a vital component of Florida’s economy. Whether it is agriculture or traditional manufacturing, Florida-made goods travel around the world, particularly to our neighbors in Mexico and Canada. Florida, like Texas, is also a transit hub for goods entering and exiting the U.S. from the Americas. These components diversify our economy and produce higher-paying jobs. That’s why it is critical that our state continues to take advantage of the trade opportunities offered by NAFTA.
NAFTA has played a tremendous role in allowing Florida companies to increase their exports with Mexico and Canada. Florida’s exports to Canada and Mexico now total more than $12 billion annually and are directly responsible for 35,000 manufacturing jobs and 30,000 service jobs across the state. Florida’s agriculture sector, which leads the nation in many categories of produce exports, today creates a $13 billion net impact on Florida’s economy because of the open trade allowed by NAFTA.
NAFTA has been a major reason for this success, eliminating most tariff and non-tariff barriers to trade and investment between the U.S., Canada and Mexico, as well as fostering the confidence and stability it takes to attract long-term international investment.
It is critical that we continue to explore and grow our relationship with trade partners. Florida already exports a fifth of the $25 billion in American exports to Central America and the Dominican Republic, and we can expand this success under continued open trade with Mexico.
Of the many compelling reasons to support the future of NAFTA, one of the most important is the potential to continue fueling job creation and economic growth. Forty-one million American jobs depend on international trade, including 6 million manufacturing jobs that depend directly on exports. This is an issue that affects businesses of all sizes, but particularly small- and medium-sized American businesses, which account for 98 percent of businesses exporting goods internationally.
When we support increased trade, we support the small- and medium-sized businesses that power the American economy and diversify the Florida economy. We also support the local ports, airports, communities and economies where these businesses operate.
World Direct Shipping has operated a successful shipping service route from Port Manatee to Mexico for the past three years.
We recently invested to add a new route from the Port of Pensacola, opening a direct link of new trade opportunities between Florida and Mexico. Our success in this route has prompted additional competition and routes between Mexico and Florida in the past two years, which has added even more investment and job opportunities.
Not only does this support the success and growth of our business, but it adds to the jobs and economic impact generated by the ports that we operate from.
We should focus on making trade easier between our neighbors and not creating adversarial relationships. The U.S. market is a prize for any country, especially our neighbors. We should be able take the lead in eliminating trade barriers like tariffs, regulations and poor business practices. Having healthy neighbors around you makes for a happier home.
Trade is vital to our local economy and to the prospects for growth in Florida and beyond. While there may be issues and concerns with our current trade policies, we should focus on updating our agreements rather than walling ourselves off.
Carlos Diaz is the director of World Direct Shipping, a Palmetto-based cargo company providing direct ocean transport between the United States and Mexico. Email him at sales@worlddirectshipping.com.
This story was originally published March 23, 2018 at 3:39 PM with the headline "It’s vital to keep trade working for Florida. Here’s why.."