Encouraging manufacturers to site new factories in Puerto Rico would be good for the Island, but we should not overlook the benefits for the United States as a whole. As the Wall Street Journal put it, “Amid disruption, Puerto Rico has become a beacon of national security and growth for U.S. bioscience manufacturing.”
Bioscience manufacturing
Puerto Rico produces goods ranging from food and drink to electronics and clothing. Why focus on bioscience capabilities? One reason is simply that Puerto Rico is already a leader in this field.
“Puerto Rico is a leader in this field thanks to nearly 70 years of investment in pharmaceutical infrastructure, workforce development and innovation,” Governor Gonzalez-Colon explained in the WSJ interview. “We’re fostering a business-friendly ecosystem that attracts the world’s top pharmaceutical and bioscience businesses, including 14 of the world’s 20 top-grossing pharmaceutical companies. Puerto Rico is one of the top producers and exporters of pharmaceuticals in the U.S., generating over $57.9 billion in international exports annually. In 2024, our pharmaceutical manufacturing export value accounted for 17% of total U.S. exports in the sector—a big number from a small island.”
Another reason to focus on this industry is the enormous effect it can have on national security. As we saw during the pandemic, the United States is heavily dependent on imports for medicine and mechanical devices. More than 90% of generic drugs reach the U.S. from India and China. When COVID-19 created severe supply chain disruptions, medical care across the United States suffered. In case of disaster or conflict, the U.S. could be in a dependent position, unable to provide the needed healthcare infrastructure for citizens and perhaps reliant on adversarial nations.
That dependence could even make it possible for bad actors to sabotage drugs sent to the United States or to put economic pressure on our nation.
Other industries
Puerto Rico may be best known for bioscience manufacturing, but the Island is a good location for all kinds of manufacturing.
“From an infrastructure perspective, we have 11 airports, including our international airport in San Juan and our airport in Aguadilla, which has the Caribbean’s longest runway. We were granted a two-year exclusion by the U.S. Department of Transportation to create international air transshipment hubs, helping companies achieve major cost savings by bringing in global products for direct flights to U.S. markets. We are filing to make this exclusion permanent,” said the governor. “Additionally, we have the highest-volume port system in the Caribbean, ranking among the top 20 ports in the U.S. Our ports move over 1.4 million 20-foot-equivalent units each year, enabling fast and cost-effective transportation for global markets.”
Manufacturers looking for a good site for their facilities look for affordable space, reliable infrastructure and logistics, sufficient workforce, and quality of life that will bring in workers and executives. Often, companies are willing to make investments in the local communities to shore up one or more of these areas if they don’t quite measure up. Puerto Rico would benefit from those investments, but already has enough to offer to make those investments worthwhile.
Avoiding tariffs, benefiting from U.S. regulations, and acquiring a gateway to South America are all additional benefits of Puerto Rico sites for manufacturers.
But there is also the importance of maintaining a strong presence in the Caribbean. China has already shown a desire to forge strong footholds in Latin America. Puerto Rico is a stronghold preserving U.S. dominance in that sphere.
As a state, of course, Puerto Rico will be that much stronger. How can you work toward statehood for Puerto Rico? Click through to find opportunities.
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