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Utah’s Path to Economic Recovery Runs Directly through Global Markets
By Miles Hansen, President and CEO, World Trade Center Utah
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Despite the pandemic’s unprecedented global economic disruption — or perhaps because of the opportunities hidden within the crisis — Utah’s path to economic recovery and revitalization runs directly through global markets just as it did a decade ago. Businesses that export grow faster during economic expansions and are far more resilient during economic downturns. The United States International Trade Commission reported that during the 2008-2009 financial crisis, small and mediumsized businesses that exported had more than twice the total revenue of their non-exporting counterparts. These exporters had revenue growth of 37 percent between 2005 and 2009, while total revenue declined by 7 percent for non-exporting businesses over the same period. International trade and investment now support nearly one in every four jobs in Utah, with small businesses accounting for 85 percent of Utah’s exporters. Last year, international sales added nearly $5 billion in additional revenue for these small business exporters, and Utah’s export growth rate has led the nation for the past two years.
There are significant global opportunities for Utah companies and important public benefits for internationalizing our economy. Yet, the world is a big place, and international business can be daunting. The good news is that Utah businesses don’t have to go it alone. World Trade Center Utah (WTC Utah) is dedicated to accelerating growth for Utah’s new-to-export businesses and the 3,500 Utah small and mediumsized enterprises that are already competing and winning on the global stage. With the launch of its newly enhanced Global Business Services, the organization can plug in at any stage of a business’s international expansion to catalyze growth while also mitigating risk. WTC Utah’s Global Business Services builds on WTC Utah’s capabilities over many years of helping Utah businesses grow in worldwide markets through increased global sales and investment. The organization has always provided businesses with consultations, datadriven insights, and grant funding. Now, in partnership with service providers in Utah and around the world, it also offers market research, strategy development, translation, logistics, freight forwarding, global matchmaking, and more. WTC Utah assesses a company’s preparation, strategy and capabilities before it invests in international expansion. After providing datadriven advice to help develop an international expansion strategy, WTC Utah and its partners deliver services to help companies develop a website, refine their marketing strategy, move product, become legally compliant, and connect with potential partners and customers in markets around the world.
Starting in early 2021, WTC Utah began sending their team throughout the state to help Utah companies learn in person about global opportunities. Just halfway through the year, the organization has led more than fifty companies through its pathfinding processes. To continue to engage with companies in southern Utah, WTC Utah will have a full-time staff member in place in St. George. The organization also administers public and private grant programs designed to bolster global growth for small Utah businesses, especially those in rural Utah and the state’s multicultural communities.
Besides offering a full range of products and services to help enter and expand in global markets, WTC Utah can also help Utah companies find capital to help finance that growth. Companies ready to go global or expand their current international engagement can connect with WTC Utah at any stage to gain a partner with deep expertise that is dedicated to catalyzing the company’s success. To learn more about how WTC Utah can help your business go global, visit wtcutah.com.
Miles Hansen is the president and CEO of World Trade Center Utah, an organization dedicated to promoting prosperity across the state by attracting investment and increasing exports. Hansen was most recently the Director for Gulf Affairs at the National Security Council in the White House. Prior to that, he served as a staff aide to the State Department’s Assistant Secretary for Near Eastern Affairs. As a diplomat, Hansen was the energy and economic officer at U.S. Consulate General Dhahran in Saudi Arabia’s oil-rich Eastern Province where he served as a liaison with Saudi Aramco and advised U.S. government and private sector leaders on the Saudi energy industry and economic reform agenda. He also served tours focused on Iran at U.S. Embassy Yerevan, Armenia, and the Iran Regional Presence Office at U.S. Consulate General Dubai. Before joining the State Department as a Thomas R. Pickering Fellow, Hansen started his career in Utah as a Special Assistant in the Office of the Lieutenant Governor. Hansen is a graduate of the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies and Brigham Young University. A speaker of Russian, Farsi, and Arabic, Hansen has firsthand experience in more than 70 countries and is a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
