Florida delegation completes U.K. trade mission

Florida delegation completes U.K. trade mission A Florida delegation headed by Gov. Jeb Bush wrapped up a week-long trade mission to the United Kingdom and Ireland, where they worked to advance business connections with a key but often overlooked region for the state's international trade.
   The mission included stops in London, the Farnborough Air Show, Oxford, Edinburgh, and Dublin.
   'The United Kingdom is one of Florida's most vital business partners, and our emerging trade relationship with Ireland has grown dramatically just in the last year,' Bush said.
      Bush's office said that in addition to the standard trade meetings'which were aimed at science, aerospace, and tourism'the governor also met with British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Scottish Deputy First Minister Nicol Stephen, and Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern.
   Bush was joined by more than 100 state officials and business executives, including the companies Lockheed Martin, Ambraer, BAE Systems, and Northrop Grumman.
   State officials said that in 2005, Florida companies exported $1 billion in Florida products to the U.K., an increase of 40 percent over the last two years. The U.K. is now the state's seventh largest Florida-origin export destination.