They have been trying a different strategy lately which leverages their commonwealth status. They have drastically reduced some taxes, trying to get businesses and wealthy to relocate there. And they are trying to become a bridge between the US and Spanish speaking markets. If it works, they could become the US version of Hong Kong.
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I’ve been reading about all kinds of jump-start ideas for PR in business publications for ages and obviously nothing has worked.
And maybe why this latest endeavor also won’t pan out is because PR is full of Latinos and not Chinese people.
I mean, something’s got to explain why nothing works there.
Smaller Islands are notorious for having low resources and high costs, including energy, travel times, travel costs, etc, which ten to make them poor. Puerto Rico is better than a lot of islands, but some issues could not be worked around until recently. Air travel, container ships, and fiber internet connections all bring the island much closer to the mainland than it has ever been. It is now a four hour flight to New York.
The US federal government also gave them a boost, when they unfortunately passed FATCA. This prevents ordinary Americans from being able to move money offshore. But we can move it to Puerto Rico, and enjoy some of the same benefits.
I think they are committed to the right strategy, and hope they succeed at it.