Florida Global Economy in Crosshairs of Tariffs

To many, Florida’s biggest imports and exports may seem to be the snowbirds who fly in during cold weather, swelling the region’s population only to leave when weather warms up further north.

But the reality is, Florida has a thriving global economy, making it particularly vulnerable to tariffs imposed by the United States and retaliatory tariffs slapped on goods made in the United States.

The Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach  area in 2023, for instance, accounted for $44.3 billion in exports, or enough to make it the equivalent of a small nation. And Florida’s role as a global trade partner has only been growing, putting it squarely in the target of tariffs imposed on products made here.

Florida in 2024 exported a record $72.2 billion of goods worldwide,  up 23 percent  or $14 billion from a decade earlier, accordig to the U.S. Trade Representative.

The state’s largest manufacturing export category is computer and electronic products, which accounted for $15.1 billion of Florida’s total goods exports in 2024,  according to the U.S. Census Bureau, Foreign Trade Statistics.

Transportation equipment  manufacturing accounted for $14.5 billion, chemicals for $9.3 billion, machinery (except electrical) $6.7 billion, and food at $3.6 billion.

“Since Florida’s main exports are computer and electronic products which were protected by the USMCA (United States Mexico Canada Agreement),” said Louis Biscotti, national food and beverage services leader at CBIZ. “There could be significant losses if tariffs are not reversed.”

Florida was the 6th largest state exporter of goods in 2024,  with exports acounting for 4.4 percent of Florida gross domestic product in 2023.

“At this piont, we’re just monitoring the situation,” said  Dave Anderson, general manager of the Palm Beach County Convention Center. “ It hasn’t had any diret effect on our busines or our clients. We’re in the process.”

He said they’re taking  a “wait and see approach to monitor the situation,” noting that U.S. tariffs could increase costs, as well as prompting tarrifs imposed on U.S. exports.

“If we impose something on another country and that increases the price, that could have an effect,” Anderson said. “It’s really more on what we’re imposing. I’m waiting to see the net effect and what comes through to fruitiion,”

While Florida may not be the first place that comes to mind for manufacturing, it does have a thriving manufacturing sector that ships worldwide.

Florida in 2024 exported $65.7 billion of manufactured products, a sector that supported an estimated 204 thousand jobs in 2022, according to the latest data available.

Florida is home to a huge number of companies that export, including  58,923 companies exportiong from Florida in 2022.

Almost all or  55,707, equal to 95 percent,  were small and medium sized enterprises with fewer than 500 employees. Small and medium-sized firms generated 54.7 percent of Florida’s total exports of goods in 2022.

Florida also has a growing tech sector, including the biotech industry, which is spreading its wings in the Sunshine state.

“Biotech companies have already moved satellite offices down,” real estate agent Lauren Barrocas, who leads Compass’ East Coast Luxury Group, said.

Some of Florida’s biggest export markets have been in the crosshairs of trade wars. The state’s largest market was Brazil at  $6.1 billion or 8 percent of the state’s total goods exported in 2024.

Canada came in second at $5.3 billion, followed by Mexico at $4.5 billion, the United Kingdom at $3.8 billion, and the United Arab Emirates at $2.5 billion. About $21.8 blllion in goods went to the Asia-Pacific region, including $12.6 billion to Asia, with $8.9 billion to Europe.

Florida is the country’s 19th largest agricultural exporting state, shipping $3.5 billion in domestic agricultural exports abroad in 2022,  according to the U.S. Dept. of Aiculture.

The state’s also the home to many global companies that set up operations here. Foreign-controlled companies in 2022 employed 487,000 Florida workers, led by the  United Kingdom, Canada and France.

Foreign investment in Florida was responsible for 5.7 percent of the state’s total private-industry employment in 2022.

And tariffs could have a big impact on many goods bought and sold in Florida, with international components.

“Automobiles, food products, pretty much anythng,” Anderson said of products that can be impacted by tariffs. “It depends what tarrifs happen and are enforced. That would have an effect on the pricing moving forward.”