Puerto Rico and the Caribbean
Wednesday, July 1-7, 2020 - // no. 062
www.theweeklyjournal.com
Revised Economic Outlook for 2021 P6 COVID-19 and Consumer Behavior P7 Puerto Rico Welcoming OffIsland Tourists P8
Puerto Rico Makes Its Case as
the Next Pharma Supply Chain Hub New manufacturing opportunities expected in the coming months
I
>Brandon Cruz González
Rosario Fajardo
‘Choliseo’ Eager to Reopen P14
rfajardo@wjournalpr.com
@RosarioWJournal
nvest Puerto Rico is pushing forward with its agenda of highlighting the island’s commitment to reshoring industry supply chain as a means to boost its economic transformation. The manufacturing push is particularly important for the island in the era of COVID-19, as the pandemic initially affected pharmaceutical supply chains in China, where the novel virus began. Among the affected sectors include pharmaceutical drugs and medical devices, such as much-
needed ventilators. The bioscience industry is at the top of Puerto Rico’s plan for economic transformation — along with tourism — both to overcome the challenges of the current pandemic and to fuel the island’s development for the future, which has already been hobbled by an economic depression lasting more than 10 years, the devastation of Hurricane Maria in Sept. 2017, the recent earthquakes in January, and now the coronavirus pandemic. This is the case that Invest Puerto Rico, the GO TO PAGE 4