Rick Scott to lead South American trade mission arranged by State Dept.

Gov. Rick Scott will lead a delegation of representatives from small- to midsized Florida businesses on an export trade mission to Argentina in April.

The trip will be to boost business relations between the state and the South American nation, a spokesman with Enterprise Florida said Wednesday.

Scott’s visit will be from April 23-27 and will begin in Buenos Aires, the Argentine capital. It is being coordinated by the U.S. Embassy in Argentina, Florida’s fourth-largest global export destination with an estimated $3.3 billion worth of exports in 2015 alone.

“Florida is the gateway to Latin America and with more than 60,000 exporting businesses,” Scott said in a statement. “Enterprise Florida provides the platform for growing Florida companies to take their products to expanding markets worldwide. We look forward to expanding our trade relationship with Argentina and growing Florida’s business presence in Latin America.”

Manny Mencia, Enterprise Florida’s senior vice president of international trade and development, will be accompanying Scott on the trip.

“This mission will increase opportunities for the small businesses traveling with us,” Mencia said in the statement. “Since the election of President Mauricio Macri, Argentina has rebuilt its relationship with the U.S. The Argentina market will offer excellent opportunities for Florida companies in the years to come, and this mission will allow them to connect with new partners and clients looking to purchase U.S. products and services.”

With a population of 41.5 million people and a gross domestic product of approximately $609 billion, Argentina offers excellent opportunities for Florida companies interested in increasing their footprint in the Southern Cone. The United States is Argentina’s third largest trading partner. U.S. goods and services trade with Argentina totaled an estimated $22.4 billion in 2015; making Argentina the U.S.’s 28th largest goods export market in 2015, according to the announcement on the Florida Enterprise website.

Florida companies seeking to participate can still register and access all mission networking events, airport transfers in the country when traveling on official mission flights, and ground transportation to mission events.

The deadline for Delegate registration is April 1. To register, contact Jorge Riano at [email protected].