Gov’t to encourage firms to relocate to Puerto Rico amid tariffs

Gov. Jenniffer González Colón

By The Star Staff

Although Gov. Jenniffer González Colón acknowledges that there is no certainty about the ultimate impact of tariff increases on Puerto Rico, she confirmed Wednesday that her administration is leveraging the tariff situation to encourage U.S. companies operating in Mexico and Canada to relocate their operations to the island, which would benefit the local economy.

President Trump was expected to announce new global tariffs against Mexico, Canada and several other nations at a late afternoon conference in the White House.

“We are taking advantage of these tariff impositions to engage with companies and attract them to manufacture in Puerto Rico,” the governor said. “We have already seen success with Stryker, which we announced earlier in this administration, resulting in the creation of 400 jobs in Aguadilla. Additionally, we have several companies on track to possibly relocate their operations to Puerto Rico as a direct result of these tariffs, since it would become more cost-effective for many of them to operate here rather than in Mexico, Canada, or other jurisdictions.”

“There are two paths here: one is how Puerto Rico can capitalize on manufacturing within the United States, and we rank among the top three or four states that are aggressively pursuing and leveraging investment through this so-called ‘reshoring,’” González Colón added, “I am confident that we are among the top two states in this effort, and we will soon see tangible results. The White House and federal agencies are providing us with guidelines, and we are waiting for these to be presented today so we can discuss the direct impact.”