A standing room only crowd of interested Utah business leaders and legislators greeted two United States Senators as they visited the World Trade Center Utah on Tuesday, May 29, 2012. Senators Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) were both ready and willing to field questions from Utah’s business leaders interested in global trade and issues that Utah’s entrepreneurs and employers face when seeking to expand and prosper in today’s economy.

Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and Senator Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) both serve on the important Senate Finance Committee that is responsible for more than 60 percent of the federal budget, and is the committee that addresses tax reform; entitlement reform including Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security; and trade agreements. Senator Hatch is currently serving as the Ranking Member (Lead Republican) on the Committee.

After a brief description of the three Free Trade Agreements recently passed and noting the importance of these agreements to promoting exports, the Senators moved on to a discussion of current issues in tax reform facing Congress. Senator Crapo explained his reform proposals and both legislators emphasized the critical need for serious, significant tax reform in order for the U.S. economy to recover and move forward.

Several audience members raised questions about foreign currency topics, the progress of the Dream Act that Senator Hatch originally proposed and the potential impact of a withdrawal from the European Union by Greece and Spain.

At the close of the meeting Senator Hatch presented Lew Cramer, President of the WTC Utah, and Franz Kolb, Regional International Director for GOED, with two very unique gifts. One was an official (red-lined) signed version of the Colombia Free Trade Agreement and the other, a framed document from the Congressional Record celebrating the naming of the World Trade Center at City Creek.