Utah, the crossroads of the world?
Strong arguments can be made in favor of that title.
Among the accolades the state has received in recent years, including the title of the nation’s fastest-growing state for the past decade, this one might take people by surprise. Crossroads of the West, yes, but of the world? However, the numbers don’t lie.
Utah ranks 16th among states in terms of per capita export values, despite its population ranking only 30th, according to Natalie Gochnour, associate dean of the David Eccles School of Business at the University of Utah and director of the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute.
He also noted that Utah has the third-highest per capita export ranking among Western states, which is even higher than California.
The Gardner Policy Institute reports that Utah businesses exported a combined $17.4 billion in 2023, supporting nearly 72,000 jobs and generating about $4 billion in profits. This also added $8 billion to Utah’s economy and $16.7 billion to the state’s gross industry sales output.
Add to that the fact that Utah exported to 200 countries last year, including $7.2 billion (most of it raw gold) to its number one trading partner, the United Kingdom. Canada and Mexico ranked second and third on the export list.
There are a lot of numbers to digest. But the result is this: when it comes to trade, an impressive amount is produced at this crossroads. And that volume of trade leads to influence.
It’s no surprise, then, that Utah has attracted enough attention to also attract several big names to the Crossroads of the World Summit, sponsored by the World Trade Center Utah and Zions Bank and held at the Grand America hotel in Salt Lake City. last week.
That list included former US President George W. Bush, former Mexican President Vicente Fox and former Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper. It’s hard to attract a lineup like that without good faith.
Add to this the lineups that Utah Valley University has attracted in recent years: a China Summit that included former ambassador to China Jon Huntsman Jr., current ambassador Nicholas Burns and a roster of experts and journalists; a United Nations conference that attracted many UN delegates and at which 75 academic papers were presented; and a conference on Ukraine featuring consuls general of Ukraine, Poland, Romania and Spain, as well as a video appearance by Ryan Guirlinger of the US State Department.
Utah’s crossroads, then, is expanding to include serious discussions about international politics in addition to trade.
But it would be a mistake to underestimate the value of trade alone. In addition to gold, Utah exports a large amount of electronic and computer parts, chemicals, and various manufacturing products. However, the state’s best asset may be something homegrown: its people.
During last week’s summit, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox discussed a conversation he recently had with a well-known hedge fund billionaire he declined to identify. The billionaire told him that Utah’s strongest asset was a population of smart, hard-working people who put their families first.
“Those are Utah values and they used to be American values,” Cox said. “Utah is what America used to be and, I hope, what it can be again.”
World Trade Center Utah President Jonathan Freedman characterized the summit as an attempt to explore international trade as a place “where diplomacy and business intersect.” That process naturally includes a spirit of cooperation between government and business. The mall, he said, offers “ideas to put Utah businesses at the forefront of global commerce.”
However, not all the trade news was good. Fox, the former Mexican president, spoke about the challenges posed by migration, which has traditionally contributed greatly to the American economy. Mexico, he said, is approaching a labor crisis and may not be able to provide the labor that Utah and other states depend on.
This echoes concerns many demographers have about a declining birth rate internationally. It could also affect Utah and other western states.
Fox also warned of tyrannical dictators in some Latin American countries. His answer to this is greater cooperation between Mexico, Canada and the United States. That is a good recipe for solving many problems.
And that greater cooperation can only mean greater commerce coming through Utah, the crossroads of the world.
Keynote USA
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