- Utah Gov. Spencer Cox is the front man of the state's ongoing trade mission in the Pacific — but he's not the only elected leader touting Utah business.
- Businesses participating in the trade mission say government leaders help lend legitimacy to their foreign efforts.
- Lawmakers hope to make Utah a key player in global industry.
SYDNEY, Australia — Utah Gov. Spencer Cox is the undisputed public face of the ongoing World Trade Center Utah trade mission to New Zealand and Australia — meeting with ranking foreign leaders, speaking at an international mining conference and joining a Friday ribbon cutting for a major Sydney-based clean-tech company.
The 80-delegate trade mission is aptly dubbed: “The Governor’s Trade Mission.”
But Cox is just one of many elected and state officials representing Utah thousands of miles from home this week.
And with the federal government back home in shutdown stasis, many here say the sizable team of Utah public servants is functioning as a de-facto emissary for the United States.
Counted among the trade mission delegates are several Republican lawmakers and folks from Cox’s Cabinet.
Each of the state officials — whether elected or appointed — have specific reasons for joining the trade mission. Northern Utah’s Rep. Karen Peterson, R-Clinton, for example, has a local interest in Hill Air Force Base, so she’s been joining the trade mission’s aerospace and defense track throughout the week.
But the private businesses involved in Utah’s New Zealand/Australia trade mission say that the presence of Cox and the other state officials sends reassuring signals to their would-be Oceania partners that Utah is a friendly, “bureaucracy-lite” place to do business.
“The relationships that we’ve created, and the number of doors that we’ve already opened, is a benefit of having the governor here,” Jefferson Moss, the executive director of the Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity, told the Deseret News on the trade mission’s penultimate evening.
“Gov. Cox opens a lot of doors — just by the nature of his position in the state of Utah and how Utah has done so well with our economy.”
Moss noted that the sheer size and weight of the Utah trade delegation attests to the state’s commitment to fostering business development, worldwide.
And, he added, investment-minded businesses in New Zealand and Australia are drawn to Utah’s stability at a moment of global and American volatility.
“With the things that are happening in the federal government and the things they’re seeing in other states, having a state that can move fast and with the right regulatory framework is critical.”
Moss calls World Trade Center Utah an essential partner in facilitating such trade tours “because of the resources they bring in terms of connections.”
Utah lawmakers: Opening doors on foreign shores
Utah State Senate President Stuart Adams, R-Layton, said there’s a defining motivation behind the state-supported trade missions: Helping Utah businesses.
Oftentimes, globally-minded Utah businesses are unable to secure appointments in foreign countries unless they are accompanied by a government official or two.
“Their protocol is different from what we have in Utah,” Adams told the Deseret News. “So we open the door for our businesses to be able to get into places they wouldn’t otherwise be able to get to.”
Many foreign businesses, he added, have no experience interacting with lawmakers. So in-country relationship-building instills comfort and fosters long-term interest.
Lastly, Adams said he’s following a civic impulse to promote the free world across the globe at a moment when authoritarian governments such as China are angling for influence.
“If you believe in a democratic republic, like we have in the United States, we ought to be helping other democratic republics and building relationships with them — whether we do business with them or not.”
The Senate leader said the world is paying attention to Utah in 2025.
“If you want to have a strong economy, you have to have companies outside of the state investing in Utah — and then we have other companies in Utah grow.
“It’s a two-way street.”
Can Utah become a trade ‘Crossroads of the World?’
For a Cache County business owner and legislator such as Sen. Chris Wilson, R-Logan, there’s perhaps never an ideal time to be thousands of miles away from the job site or his constituents.
But on his own dime, Wilson joined Utah’s New Zealand/Australia trade mission. He’s a veteran of such ventures — and adds he’s become a witness of their long-term benefits to the Beehive State.
“We’re really just trying to promote Utah,” said Wilson. “There are a number of businesses we think we can get to come to Utah to do business, create jobs and help our economy.”
He’s also a big believer in relationship-building. Several of the businesses he’s connected with during the ongoing trade mission have burgeoning associations with Utah State University and its Space Dynamics Lab.
“There are a lot of ties here that are going to help Cache Valley institutions — and all of Utah,” said Wilson.
The senator’s past experience with World Trade Center trade missions have convinced him of their long-time value. “Many countries around the world are recognizing that Utah is a leader in the United States.”
Wilson’s Senate colleague and fellow northern Utahn, Sen. Scott Sandall, R-Tremonton, shares Cox’s vision that Utah can become the “Crossroads of the World” for global businesses.
But it’s essential for the Beehive State to be proactive with efforts such as the New Zealand/Australia trade mission.
“If we want our population to grow, if we want places for our kids to be, and if we want good jobs in Utah, we just can’t sit back,” he told the Deseret News.
Sandall also echoes Adams’ belief that when Utah’s government partners with Utah’s businesses, doors across the globe start opening. “They can see we’re serious … it lands legitimacy.”
This week’s critical minerals events in Washington, D.C., linking the United States and Australia, he added, is providing the Utah delegation with captive audiences across the South Pacific.
“Quite honestly, Utah sits at a geographical crossroads and a political environment that allows these companies to really, really want to be in Utah — and not just in mining.”