Opportunity Panama Creates New Wealth and New Jobs Starting at Port Manatee

SARASOTA – Business owners, shipping executives, government leaders and trade and port specialists gathered at the Hyatt Regency Sarasota on Monday for a one-day conference, Opportunity Panama. In four years, the expansion of the Panama Canal will change global trade lanes and expand new market opportunities for local businesses via Port Manatee.

Panamanian Ambassador to the United States Jaime Eduardo Alem‡n Healy, from left, and U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan have grown close working to bond Panama and Florida to increase trade and create new jobs.

But U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan said the biggest impact on the local community in Manatee and Sarasota Counties is going to be jobs.

”Good paying jobs for working families,“ he said. ”We need more economic diversity and Port Manatee will offer that since it’s the closest port to Panama. We are the closest port to the Panama Canal in the United States.“

He added that there are 20,000 jobs in Manatee County that are directly and indirectly tied to Port Manatee.

”We want to double, if not triple, that number so we have a backup to any severe recessions we may have in the future,“ Buchanan said. ”Also, anytime we can build better relations for trade, we create more friendships and a better relationship with our best neighbor in Panama.“

In March, the Port Manatee Propeller Club honored Buchanan with its highest honor as Maritime Person of the Year at the Bradenton Yacht Club.

He was recognized for his ongoing support of Port Manatee and its 2009 strategic alliance with the Panama Canal Authority. As a member of the Congressional Friends of Panama Caucus, Buchanan is working to ratify the U.S.-Panama Trade Promotion Agreement and continues to strengthen Port Manatee’s ties with Panama.

”At the end of the day, people do business with people they like, and I want that business to come to Manatee County,“ he said.

One person Buchanan likes a lot is the Panamanian Ambassador to the United States, Jaime Eduardo Alem‡n Healy.

Alem‡n spoke and met with the group on Monday at the conference, and he was enthusiastic for the budding relationship between Port Manatee and the Panama Canal. In February, he toured the port and met with business leaders and lawmakers to discuss potential economic impacts on the region related to the Panama Canal’s expansion.

Jill VanderPol, Communications Manager for Port Manatee, from left, and U.S. Chamber of Commerce "TradeRoots" director, Liz Reilly,   participated in the Opportunity Panama conference.

”I feel fantastic today,“ he said, after speaking to the group about the history of the Panama Canal and the new trade vision. ”I thank Vern Buchanan who introduced me to this part of the country. There’s so much enthusiasm and so much interest here today, and I feel right at home.“

He added that he’s going to keep coming back and that he already observes a lot of good between Florida and Panama.

U.S. trade routes and "TradeRoots"

Liz Reilly also said there is a lot to look forward to locally and nationally regarding trade relations with Panama and the U.S., especially Florida.

She’s the director for the ”TradeRoots“ grassroots trade route program for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. She was the first speaker Monday morning and spends much of her time traveling around the country talking about the benefits of trade and why trade is important to small businesses.

”Ninety-six percent of the world’s consumers are outside the United States,“ she said. ”We address how we are going to get these businesses to engage in the global market place.“

She said that on a local and national level there is a world of opportunity – that opportunity starts and ends at the port.

There are 14 ports in Florida, and Port Manatee is the most direct route to Panama, which distributes out all over the world. Reilly believes Florida is ahead of the game in trade, but the Federal Government will need to push through the Free Trade Agreement with Panama to get Florida and the entire U.S. competitive with rising countries, like India and China.

Port Manatee Commerce Center's director of operations, Kevin Button, said their company will be able to create new local jobs with the expansion of the Panama Canal and if the agreement passes between Panama and the U.S.

U.S.-Panama Free Trade Agreement

The U.S.-Panama Free Trade Agreement is a comprehensive free trade agreement that can result in significant liberalization of trade in goods and services, including financial services, stated the U.S. Trade Representative’s Web site.

It also stated that the agreement includes important disciplines relating to customs administration and trade facilitation, technical barriers to trade, government procurement, investment, telecommunications, electronic commerce, intellectual property rights, and labor and environmental protection. To date, it has not been approved by the U.S.

”We have some positive signs from President Obama that he is supportive of the agreement, but that he still sees some challenges with it,“ Reilly said. ”We want to know what are those challenges and how can we move around them.“

Since the Panama Canal’s expansion is scheduled for completion in 2014, this agreement needs to considered sooner than later.

”I was incredibly impressed with the full room here all day long and how many local people have been to Panama,“ she said. ”Many are interested in the free trade, which is progressive and impressive.“   

Opportunity Panama in Manatee County

Port Manatee’s senior director of trade development, Steve Tyndal, said there’s no other place in Central or South America that is better equipped to connect with the Panama Canal than Port Manatee.

”We are the closest,“ he said. ”Most importantly it gives eight million Floridians the opportunity to benefit from that trade opportunity.“

He said that by having Opportunity Panama and other conferences, people have an opportunity to better understand what’s around the corner for local businesses and the community.

Alem‡n added that, absolutely, Port Manatee is one of the strongest ports, and he was impressed by the enthusiasm at the conference for Panama.

He said the agreement has not gone through because unemployment is still so high in the U.S. and that there may be opposition on part of the labor unions, but added they have nothing to fear.

”These opportunities will only increase more export and add more jobs,“ Alem‡n said. ”I’ve learned to be patient, but I am also very optimistic.“

One business leader at the Opportunity Panama conference was Kevin Button, the director of operations for Port Manatee Commerce Center.

The company has seven buildings near Port Manatee that act as transportation and storage facilities for businesses trading through the local port.

Button said an immediate impact that the expansion of the Panama Canal, and Port Manatee's ability to handle that expansion and increased trade, will help job creation.

He said his company, alone,  will create hundreds of new jobs

”It looks like this thing is moving forward without a lot of obstacles,“ Button said.

Erica Newport is a daily reporter for The Bradenton Times. She covers art, culture and community. If you have a story that might interest Erica, please e-mail her using erica.newport@thebradentontimes.com address.  She also takes your questions related to our weekly theme days and provides advice and opinions for our readers.

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