If you are paying any attention at all, you should not be surprised to see Utah’s governor and a delegation of business and political leaders on significant foreign trade missions around the world.
President Trump may get most of the headlines for his up-and-down tariff announcements, but Utah’s leaders are hard at work making sure much of the business key nations do with the United States comes to the Beehive State.
That is a forward-looking and bold strategy geared toward ensuring the long-term prosperity and growth of Utah’s economy. It is, as we noted earlier this year, an outward signal that Utah leaders understand that while current political conditions are temporary, relationships and mutual trust can be permanent.
New Zealand and Australia
The latest iteration of this is an extended trip Down Under to New Zealand and Australia by the governor and a delegation of about 30 political and business leaders. In the case of New Zealand, the first stop on the tour, the opportunity is to negotiate a good share of what already is a strong relationship with the United States. New Zealand’s Acting Deputy Chief of Mission, Melissa Sweeney, described that bond as the strongest it has been in decades, now reaching more than $17 billion in bilateral trade.
Given that good news, Utah’s greatest opportunities there lie in energy and defense, and plenty of the state’s business leaders were on hand to forge friendships and find ways to mutually benefit one another.
Gov. Spencer Cox, who met privately with New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, said the trade mission is “focused on opening markets and building partnerships in aerospace and defense, critical minerals, fintech, and other shared strengths.”
He signed a letter of intent with New Zealand Energy Minister Simon Watts “to expand our cooperation, including geothermal. This partnership will help advance Operation Gigawatt as we work to create energy abundance.”
Cox’s Operation Gigawatt is an effort to greatly expand Utah’s energy production in the face of mounting needs generated by, among other things, artificial intelligence.
No doubt similar agreements and relationships will follow as the delegation moves to Australia. Part of the agenda there includes a visit to the Sydney Quantum Academy.
Utah’s strengths
Utah, of course, is not the only state to embark on trade missions to other nations. However, its ambitious approach, spurred by a growing population with diverse multilingual skills and experience abroad due to ecclesiastical missions, far exceeds what one would expect from a state its size.
Earlier this year, a similar delegation traveled to Canada, where Cox again met with Prime Minister Mark Carney. That trip also forged important new friendships and strengthened existing ones. Utah can provide raw materials to Canada, strengthening supply chains important to both economies.
Two years ago, a similar delegation traveled to war-torn Ukraine, becoming the first state to do so. They held a substantial meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. They spoke of ways to build businesses, extend humanitarian aid and rebuild after hostilities cease. Again, the Utah leaders understood that things would not always be as they were then. Even though the situation there remains violent and unsettled, the hope is that someday Ukraine and Utah will feed off each other’s strengths and find ways to mutually prosper, just as the state is doing with its other trading partners.
These efforts have also included international trade summits in Utah, where world leaders can come to familiarize themselves with what the state has to offer.
Crossroads of the world
As former U.S. senator and ambassador to Turkey Jeff Flake said earlier this year, this shows “Utah is not just the crossroads of the West; it’s a crossroads of the world.”
These goodwill missions, and the relationships that result, are one reason so many are recognizing Utah as a leader. U.S. News & World Report named it the best state in the union earlier this year, noting, “Those in the know also note the intangible aspects of community and respect — at the dinner table or elsewhere — that fuel a phenomenon termed the ‘Utah way.’”
That “way” includes building genuine relationships as well as providing service and sincere care for others.
It may ultimately be the state’s most important resource.