OREM — Looking beyond the U.S. borders, Utah businesses have a vast potential market area extending to Mexico, Central America and South America.

As Marcus Borges, a Utah businessman originally from Brazil, sees it, considering business opportunities further afield is a no-brainer.

"We are living in a global environment and we need to think globally. There's no way to think only about your country," said Borges, who runs Oxpher Business and Consulting.

Likewise, Catalina Crespo Sancho, Costa Rica's ambassador to the United States, thinks international trade can create synergies.

"The bottom line is that working together makes us stronger. It doesn't take jobs from one country to another," she said. "Working together with like-minded countries and like-minded territories like Costa Rica and Utah makes us stronger."

Trade between businesses in Utah and the many countries of Latin America was the focus of a business conference Thursday at Utah Valley University in Orem. Borges, Crespo Sancho and representatives from Mexico, Peru, Guatemala and El Salvador addressed the gathering, touting the attributes of their countries and sounding a pro-trade message. The aim of the event — organized by the Utah Hispanic Chamber of Commerce — was to educate Utah business operators about opportunities abroad and boost Utah as a destination for foreign investment.

"We are always looking for opportunities to do business with others in every part of the world," said Ryan Starks, executive director of the Governor's Office of Economic Opportunity, the state agency that promotes economic development in Utah. Both he and state Sen. Luz Escamilla, who also took part, lauded the attributes of Utah in promoting the state for investment, citing the educated workforce, pro-business atmosphere and low taxes here. She also noted Utah's location and system of proposed inland ports.

"We are the crossroads of the West," said Escamilla, a naturalized U.S. citizen originally from Mexico. "Logistics is critical when it comes to business."

Even if the outlook among participants was bullish on international trade opportunities, firming up trade deals is another matter. Around 200 people representing 90-100 business registered to take part in Thursday's gathering, according to Baldomero Lago, who as UVU's chief international officer helps organize intercultural academic initiatives. UVU students and others also took part.

"This is an opportunity for the local community to expand their horizons in the business world if they want to conduct business in any of the Hispanic areas — Mexico, Peru, El Salvador, Guatemala, those countries that we have ... represented here," Lago said.

David Utrilla, who's originally from Peru but now lives in Utah, noted that a trade mission to Peru of representatives from Utah's mining sector seemed to elicit interest in trade. He came back early from the mission, which is to end on Friday, to attend Thursday's conference.

"To their surprise, things were much better than expected," Utrilla said. The contingent of 18, which included representatives from eight mining firms in Utah and two state lawmakers, attended a mining exposition in Peru and officials in the South American nation were "super welcoming" to the idea of doing business with the state.

Crespo Sancho, the Costa Rican ambassador, hinted at the potential for business between the Central American nation and Utah in the tech sector. Utah has Silicone Slopes, while she noted firms in Costa Rica that supply Intel, the computer chip maker. Moreover, Costa Rica is one of seven nations that have been selected by the U.S. State Department per the 2022 CHIPS and Science Act to help augment global semiconductor development.

Costa Rica and Utah "share not only values but also a business mindset, especially in the technology space," Crespo Sancho said. Some 150 U.S. firms have a presence in Costa Rica and some of those also operate in Utah.

Utah is home to around 20,000 Hispanic-owned businesses of all sizes and Escamilla, a Democrat from Salt Lake City, used the opportunity Thursday to tout the Latino community in the state, which has led the way in population growth.

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Utah needs a broad-based labor force to thrive and that, she said, "includes recognizing that immigrants, Latinos, Hispanics are part of the solution." What's more, she noted that business growth has been particularly strong among Latino women.

The officials from the Latin American nations represented Thursday touted the trade attributes of their countries, later meeting with attendees.

Antonio Cruz, deputy consul at the Mexican Consulate in Salt Lake City, noted the 14 free trade agreements Mexico has that give preferential trade recognition to some 50 nations. Fernando Pérez, head of the Salvadoran Consulate in Salt Lake City, and Gaby Morales, commercial counselor of the Guatemalan Consulate in Los Angeles, noted the relatively stable currencies in their countries, among other things.

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