Florida Internaional Trade Articles

TOKYO — Japan’s economy grew at a 6 percent annualized rate in the third quarter, signaling a strong recovery after the devastating tsunami in March. Still, a slowing global economy and a stubbornly strong yen cloud the outlook for Japan, the world’s third-largest economy.

New international free trade agreements are expected to be beneficial to some Inland Empire industries.

Multi national firms are complaining that American restrictions on work permits and delays and difficulties securing visas are preventing them from moving highly skilled workers to their US operations.

LONDON — Can a bailout fund whose backers include some of the countries it may be called upon to bail out really succeed? That’s the question being asked by skeptical investors about the European Financial Stability Facility — the rescue fund of 440 billion euros, or $632 billion, that is being given new, amplified powers to help the euro zone end the sovereign debt crisis.

WASHINGTON — The economic crisis in Greece could reach the United States through money market funds, especially if the contagion spreads to European banks, officials from the International Monetary Fund said Wednesday.

Experts see international business in Palm Beach County

International business is becoming a more important economic driver for Palm Beach County, according to experts assembled at a Nov. 16 forum sponsored by the Business Development Board of Palm Beach County.

Located at the geographic and commercial crossroads of the Americas, Florida has emerged as a key global trade hub. With its well-developed international trade infrastructure, multilingual workforce, and unbeatable bottom-line business advantages, the state is a logical gateway for companies wishing to access global markets.

Green Solutions: Helping Businesses to Reduce Their Carbon Footprint

Organized by the Mexican Federal Government and sponsored by several private companies, Green Solutions@COP16 offers businesses from all over the world a platform to exchange ideas and showcase efforts in climate change mitigation.

Why do medical companies want to do business in Puerto Rico?

Medtronic, which supplies about half of the world’s pacemakers, recently announced that the company is investing $5 million for a second facility in Puerto Rico. Baxter, another medical products giant, employs 4,000 people in its plants across the island. Why are many of the world’s biggest medical device companies investing millions on this island—a U.S. jurisdiction with a foreign-like tax structure?

After 9/11, the military increasingly turned to private contractors such as Tampa-based Celestar to augment its forces quickly and provide specialized expertise in fields that the services lack or would find expensive to develop — many of the Florida companies provide highly specialized information technology services, for example. Contractors also free military personnel for missions and, unlike civil service employees and troops, can be let go quickly when no longer needed. The widespread use of contractors has made the Iraq and Afghan wars the most privatized in U.S. history. And it has spurred growth at Celestar and other firms in Florida that have emerged post 9/11 to flourish in the orbit of the state's military bases.