The COVID-19 pandemic has brought to the forefront the importance of the United States having its own source for the production of pharmaceutical products. Puerto Rico’s economic problems are directly related to the decline of its pharmaceutical industry when Internal Revenue Code Section 936 was repealed. Various leading pharmaceutical companies have operations in Puerto Rico. The reenactment of Section 936 provides an important opportunity for Congress to address the need for the United States to have a robust pharmaceutical industry and simultaneously enact economic development legislation for Puerto Rico to reinvigorate Puerto Rico’s economy.

Section 936 provided federal tax incentives for American corporations by exempting the profits earned by American companies from federal taxes. James Surowiecki, The Puerto Rican Problem, April 6, 2015 https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/04/06/the-puerto-rican-problem. Section 936 attracted pharmaceutical companies to Puerto Rico, and the manufacturing share of Puerto Rico’s G.N.P. between 1970 and 1980 increased by 100%. Id.