Why is the world coming to Utah?

SALT LAKE CITY — Some of the world's most influential experts on international relations will convene in Salt Lake City this week to help Utah businesses navigate the upheaval of global markets.

The second annual Crossroads of the World International Trade Summit will feature conversations with three former U.S. secretaries of state and two former prime ministers.

"It just shows once again that Utah is not just the crossroads of the West, it's a crossroads of the world," said Jeff Flake, former U.S. ambassador to Turkey, in a Deseret News interview.

"There are not many gatherings anywhere — in Washington, D.C., or New York, or LA — that have three former secretaries of state, along with former heads of state, ambassadors. So it just shows again that Utah is a significant player in international trade," he said.

Sponsoring the event is the state's largest financial institution, Zions Bank, and the state's nonprofit arm for international business outreach, World Trade Center Utah, which recently led a trade mission with Gov. Spencer Cox to Canada.

On Wednesday, attendees will hear from Flake, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, a number of Utah executives, legislators and manufacturers, and Presiding Bishop Gérald Caussé of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

On Thursday, attendees will hear from Cox, former secretaries of state Antony Blinken and Condoleezza Rice, former prime ministers Jacinda Ardern of New Zealand and Theresa May of the United Kingdom, and Australia Ambassador to the U.S. Kevin Rudd.

"It's an impressive list that I don't think most states could do," said Shad Morris, the director of the Whitmore Global Business Center at Brigham Young University's Marriott School.

The fact that these high-profile players on the world stage are considering Utah's important role during a period of economic turmoil is a sign that the state's rapid acceleration is being noticed worldwide, Morris said.

Over the past decade, Utah has led the nation in GDP growth, according to the University of Utah's Kem C. Gardner Institute, and was the fastest growing state in the nation, according to the most recent census.

"Coming to Utah just for this I think shows that Utah has been doing something right," Morris told the Deseret News. "In the way we're dealing with international trade, with economic policy, with business development."

Building on past momentum

This year's event hopes to build on momentum from World Trade Center Utah's first global summit in 2024, which featured remarks from former President George W. Bush, former Mexican President Vicente Fox and past Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

World Trade Center Utah CEO Jonathan Freedman, who has held the position since 2023, said his goal is for the annual event to become a "world-class" conference "that just happens to be in Utah."

"We want it to be known around the world," Freedman said.

Appointing Flake as the board chairman for World Trade Center Utah in September was a big step in this direction, Freedman said.

Other board members with international experience, including Scott Anderson, the former CEO of Zions Bank, contribute to World Trade Center Utah's strength, which is its "global network," Freedman said.

But in addition to raising Utah's status on the global stage, events like Crossroads of the World provide essential resources for the small, medium and large businesses that make up the membership of World Trade Center Utah, Freedman said.

The organization has created a tariff dashboard to help Utah businesses navigate the complex timeline of executive orders, retaliatory actions and temporary pauses that have filled the months since President Donald Trump started his second term.

Many of the companies Freedman works with are struggling to plan for the future as the price of imported goods varies from day to day, he said. For some, the uncertainty has ruined their operations entirely.

"Companies need predictability, they need certainty, and they need to know where they can turn for answers," Freedman said. "And although we do not have all the answers, we do not have a crystal ball, we can provide lots of resources to companies such as access to the best information."

Conversations on Wednesday will focus on how businesses can handle "policy whiplash" and will give leaders the rare opportunity to engage with former officials from Republican, Democratic and foreign administrations who are able to speak candidly about the realities of global trade and foreign policy.

"Everyone is wondering how they navigate the situation we're in; it's a difficult environment for any companies here that rely on trade," Flake said. "A lot of other companies benefit from hearing those who are going through this, have gone through it before, and have experience."

Utah: A global hub?

Freedman's hope is that as Utah shows an eagerness to strengthen ties with the world, the world will look to Utah as a hub for trade.

"I want people around the world to look at Utah as a source of answers and predictability, as a safe haven for investment, as a destination for a talented, skilled workforce," Freedman said. "These are all the things that we're proud of in Utah."

Utah already stands out from its competitors because of its highly educated population, according to Morris. The state has the third most well-trained adult population in the country in terms of post-secondary degrees, credentials and certificates, according to the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute.

Morris has lived around the country and the world but says he has never lived in a place as entrepreneurial as Utah, from its "Silicon Slopes" tech sector, to its university system, health care and life science industries.

But one of the things that sets it apart most is its orientation toward the rest of the planet, Morris said. The state sends young people to countries around the world, and this exposure to the world has allowed Utah innovators to bring the world back home.

"We're not an insular or protectionist state," Morris said. "We're very much a state focused on growth and development and bringing in ideas, regardless of where they're coming from, that are good for the economy, for the people, for the culture, for society."

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