Coggin Flagships Host 2007 Florida
International Business Summit

Over 170 business professionals, government officials, academics and students attended the 2007 Florida International Business Summit at UNF. The purpose of the summit, one of the first of its kind in Florida, was to begin a dialogue about enhancing Florida’s global competitiveness among these groups. The event had two tracks, examining macro-level issues such as market opportunities and trade agreements, and micro-level concerns like infrastructure development and port security.

Dr. Mark Rosenberg, Chancellor of the State University System of Florida, noted that, “Knowledge is the key to twenty-first century competitiveness. We need more collaborative meetings with sector leaders from business, government, and academia.” Rosenberg also challenged business leaders to raise their expectations of the state’s educational system, explaining that, “We get what we expect to get.”

John Adams, President of Enterprise Florida, Inc., believes that, “There is no product or service that is not exportable.” As evidence, he reported that Florida’s exports during November 2006, topped $100 billion for the first time. Jorge Arce, Director of the US Commercial Service in Jacksonville, was one of several presenters who noted that Florida’s future will depend on its ability to export knowledge-intensive goods with high value.

Ambassador Nancy Soderberg provided the luncheon keynote, offering her insights regarding the effects of US foreign policy on competitiveness. She declared the Doha Round of global trade liberalization talks, which had broken down, to be “off of life-support” after the recent meetings in Switzerland.

One program session offered insights on trade opportunities in various regions. Presenters unanimously agreed that maintaining Florida’s market share dominance in Latin American trade would remain the top priority. About forty cents of every dollar that Latin Americans spend on US exports goes through Florida. Moreover, Florida is the number one US trading partner for every Latin American country except Mexico.

At the same time, Florida must explore new markets. The African market, in particular, has not been developed enough. Bryant Salter, Director of Africa Trade Expansion for Enterprise Florida, stated, “Africa can be particularly lucrative for small- and medium-sized firms.” China and India are both actively creating relationships and economic linkages there, and American firms must start to take African markets seriously or risk being shut out of them. Salter also reminded the audience that government programs, such as the Millennium Challenge Account, provide billions of dollars to certain developing countries to help purchase goods and services from the US.

To take advantage of these opportunities, Florida must maintain and develop its trade-related infrastructure. Dr. Yemisi Bolumole, co-director of the UNF Flagship Program in Logistics and Transportation, warned, “Florida’s success in trade has already begun to cause congestion in our intermodal transportation system. Logistics costs as a share of GDP are rising again, which decreases the competitiveness of American goods abroad.” Another key issue for trade is the balance between port security and minimizing logistics costs.

Mayor John Peyton summed up the day’s proceedings by noting that international business and logistics represent our keys to the future prosperity of Northeast Florida. He opined, “I hope that this is the first of a series of discussions about our community’s competitiveness among government, business and academics.”

The summit was co-sponsored by the Coggin Flagship Programs in International Business and Logistics, as well as the University of Florida’s International Center.