World Trade Center sees Miami well positioned in tariff war

As the global market scrambles to adjust to effects of sweeping tariffs imposed by the Trump administration, Miami is in a unique position to mitigate and withstand the effects, owing to its long-standing reputation and experience as a global trading hub, one observer says.

Alice Ancona, chief operating officer of the World Trade Center Miami, says Miami, with its long history of international trade, business relations and expertise as a global trading hub, is in a very good position to withstand the potential effects of oncoming tariffs, even as most companies and governments remain uncertain as to what the full extent of the effects will be.

“It’s hard to say that no one is going to be impacted. Of course we’re going to be impacted, and I think we’ll be able to mitigate a lot of the impacts here in Miami,” said Ms. Ancona.

“Miami’s kind of a pro at this. If there was any city that outperformed most global cities and trade hubs in the world during covid, it was Miami. We do have a lot of confidence. Our numbers were through the roof, the airport was still functional, we’re a strategic international trade center and hub for the world, not just for Latin America, and we also have a lot of tools at our disposal throughout a lot of trade shifts.”

According to Ms. Ancona, Miami has a wealth of logistical support aimed at reducing the impact of tariffs and encouraging trade, including over 300 foreign trade zones and bonded warehouses that reduce the cost of duties and tariffs for importers, as well as a well-experienced logistical staff that has experience with major trade disruptions, such as the supply chain interruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

According to Ms. Ancona, the World Trade Center Miami has been preparing and coordinating with international partners in advance, many of whom were already concerned about the tariff hikes in the days and weeks before they were implemented.

“They were calling even prior to the announcement of the tariffs … because they knew something was coming, and there had already been warnings…. There was already a sense of what was going to be,” she said. “There was a lot of uncertainty.”

As the center prepares for a business-to-business matchmaking conference with the aerospace defense industry in May and a global food and beverage show in September, Ms. Ancona has had to field concerns from several international exhibitors and partners, including Canada, Mexico and Japan, who are still interested in engaging in business through Miami and the rest of the US.

“We know from them there’s a lot of questions.… They’re really primarily trying to understand what the landscape looks like going forward, especially with every geopolitical disruption that’s going on,” said Ms. Ancona.

While many global companies and trading partners remain uncertain about the state of affairs, Ms. Ancona advises preparedness over panic and says she is reasonably confident Miami and its workforce will be able to mitigate the effects of tariffs and be able to keep trade and commerce moving through.

“Every analyst will give you a different perspective,” she said. “You’ll have some that’ll be saying this is Armageddon, others that are saying this is just a transitory phase. We’re of the mindset of more positive thinking, and we look at the first Trump administration. While this isn’t exactly like the first Trump administration, we know there is an interest in negotiating. I think the intent of these tariffs was to negotiate a ‘better deal’ for the US, so we expect that there will be changes.”

Ms. Ancona said she is hopeful the federal government can resolve these issues by September, and use the tariffs to renegotiate agreements and non-tariff barriers, such as regulatory issues.

“This isn’t the end of the world, this isn’t Armageddon,” she said. “This is a reconfiguration or a reshifting of trade and supply chains. We can look at it as what happened in covid. There was a supply chain shift, it was temporary, and we’re here now.”