Posted on April 1, 2019
Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross lauded Nassau County’s economic development Friday while at the Port of Fernandina, highlighting the emergence of Wildlight, the growth of Rayonier Inc. (NYSE: RYN) and capital projects planned for the port.
The port plans to deepen its shipping channel to 40 feet, add 100,000 sq. ft. of warehouse space and install two new cranes, giving it the ability to double its cargo volumes. Ross was especially pleased that the port exports more than it imports.
“We in the U.S. government want to make sure full containers coming into our ports don’t leave empty,” said Ross. “We want them leaving just as full.”
Ross, a Florida native, also touted the economic success of the state. Its trillion dollar economy would be the 17th biggest national economy in the world, and its 126 million tourists in 2018 was a record high for the eighth consecutive year.
This success was helped, Ross said, by the Trump administration’s economic accomplishments: a reworked trade agreement with Mexico and Canada, reduced regulations, tax reform and the creation of opportunity zones, designated incentive areas to attract businesses to low-income areas. Every county in Florida now has at least one opportunity zone, including in Yulee in Nassau County.
Ross also expressed confidence in the ongoing trade negotiations with China.
“We know retaliatory tariffs have been harmful,” Ross said, “but we hope to put an end to Chinese trade practices that have harmed American workers and companies.”
One problem that still needs to be addressed, Ross said, is the shortage of skilled labor. He noted that there are now more unfilled jobs in America, 7.1 million, than there are Americans without jobs, 6 million.
Source: bizjournals.com
