Gateway Florida, Inc.

Gateway Florida, Inc. is the State of Florida’s new public-private joint venture promoting Florida’s economic development through connectivity to Latin America and the Caribbean.  Building on the work of Florida FTAA, Inc., Gateway Florida will work to promote the “Gateway of the Americas™” franchise throughout the hemisphere and in the United States. 

Gateway Florida will serve as an umbrella organization that supports several hemispheric economic development and quality of life pillars for our citizens and neighbors.   Those pillars include:

• Advocating for an Alliance for Hemispheric Prosperity built around the free market democracies of the Americas, twelve of which have existing or pending bilateral free trade agreements with the United States.  Bringing the headquarters of that organization to Florida to create jobs and serve as the platform for hemispheric economic integration.

• Promoting bilateral trade agreements between the United States and our friends in the region, with an immediate focus on the pending U.S.-Colombia and Panama trade agreements.  Encouraging Congress to provide the Executive Branch with the authority it needs to enter into new agreements.

• Providing the institutional support to Florida FTAA, Inc. in its effort to secure the Permanent Secretariat of the FTAA, assuming an eventual reengagement of the FTAA framework.

• Promoting energy security and “green trade” in the Americas through the promotion of bio-fuels partnerships between Florida’s private and public sectors and our hemispheric partners.

• Placing Florida at the center of U.S.–Brazil global leadership in biofuels production and technology, consistent with Governor Crist’s leadership on the issue of climate change and his support for a strong Florida-Brazil partnership in the area of clean renewable fuels.

• Providing support and administration services to the Interamerican Ethanol Commission. 

• Promoting Florida’s health care infrastructure throughout the Americas in order to increase the attractiveness of our state as a destination for medical treatment and therapy.  Promoting Florida as the “Wellness Center of the Americas.”

• Working with Florida’s legal community to make the state the hemispheric center for the resolution of trade disputes and commercial arbitration.

• Working with international, state-wide, and local organizations – such as Enterprise Florida, Inc., the Florida Chamber of Commerce, Southcom, Council of the Americas, Center for Hemispheric Policy, etc. – to promote constructive engagement between Florida and the hemisphere.

Governor Charlie Crist and the mayors of several Florida counties and cities have suggested that Gateway Florida be created in order that Florida broaden its Western Hemisphere agenda.  The pillars mentioned above dramatize that the State of Florida along with its hemispheric focused organizations, its international seaports, its international airports and its other hemisphere job creators are all advancing Florida’s hemisphere agenda. 

Florida’s ownership of the title “Gateway of the Americas™” through its registered trademark means that we are the centerpiece of an increasingly integrated economy in the region. Gateway Florida will work with our private and public partners throughout the state to ensure that Florida holds that title and builds it into the future.