Foreign direct investment is not new to Puerto Rico. For decades, it has helped shape the island’s economy, particularly in industries like advanced manufacturing and life sciences. What has changed is the context in which that investment is happening.

Companies are no longer optimizing only for cost. They are optimizing for resilience, speed, and certainty. Supply chains are being redesigned. Production is moving closer to end markets. And in that shift, the question is not just where companies can operate, but where they can operate with confidence.

This is where Puerto Rico has an unique advantage, one that is increasingly difficult to replicate.

Competing in a Different Category

The Caribbean is seeing renewed investment interest. Capital is moving back into island economies, largely driven by reinvestment from companies already operating in the region. This is where Puerto Rico stands out.

Puerto Rico is not competing as a typical Caribbean jurisdiction. It is competing as a U.S. jurisdiction with a fundamentally different value proposition. Companies can operate within the U.S. system while benefiting from strong intellectual property protections, regulatory alignment with federal standards, and full access to the U.S. market. At the same time, they can tap into an industrial base that has been built and refined over decades.

This is especially relevant as reshoring continues to gain traction. Much of the conversation focuses on bringing production closer to the United States, but in practice, that often means global companies investing within U.S. jurisdictions. In other words, foreign direct investment and reshoring are not competing ideas. In many cases, FDI is what makes reshoring possible.

Puerto Rico enters this moment with a real advantage: it is not building from scratch.

Built on Proof

Puerto Rico is not making a case based on future possibilities. It is building on an existing base.

The island is home to more than 120 FDA-approved manufacturing facilities and produces tens of billions of dollars in bioscience exports each year. In fiscal year 2024 alone, pharmaceutical exports reached $48.3 billion, accounting for 74% of total exports, and the sector contributes approximately 30% of Puerto Rico’s GDP.

That level of specialization does not happen overnight. It is the result of decades of investment, much of it driven by global companies that chose Puerto Rico as a platform for U.S. operations. And they continue to choose it.

Puerto Rico has recorded 55 announced greenfield FDI projects over the past decade, with investment coming from countries like Germany, Switzerland, Canada, Spain, and Japan—some of the most advanced manufacturing economies in the world. Today, more than 22,000 jobs on the island are directly supported by foreign-owned affiliates.

Those numbers matter because they reflect something larger than project volume. They point to trust, capability, and a track record of execution.

From Reinvestment to Expansion

Across Latin America and the Caribbean, recent data shows that much of the growth in foreign direct investment is being driven by reinvestment from companies already operating in-market, rather than new entrants. Puerto Rico is seeing that dynamic play out in real time.

Companies like Amgen, with a $650 million expansion, and Eli Lilly and Company, with a $1.2 billion investment, are not entering the market for the first time—they are doubling down, scaling and modernizing operations on the island. At the same time, Carelon Global Solutions, with a $15.5 million expansion, shows how both reinvestment and new growth are reinforcing Puerto Rico’s role within the U.S. market.

This matters because reinvestment is one of the clearest signals of confidence. It reflects companies choosing not just to stay, but to grow—committing additional capital, expanding capabilities, and deepening their presence over time.

Why FDI Matters Now

FDI does more than bring capital. It brings technology, operational know-how, and integration into global supply chains. It creates jobs, strengthens local capabilities, and builds the kind of economic complexity that makes a jurisdiction more competitive over time.

For Puerto Rico, that impact is not theoretical.

It is the reason the island developed one of the most sophisticated manufacturing ecosystems in the United States. It is what positioned Puerto Rico as a global hub for highly regulated industries like pharmaceuticals and medical devices. And today, it is what connects the island to the next phase of global investment.

That is the role Puerto Rico is uniquely positioned to play: a proven U.S. platform for strategic industries that matter to the future of supply chain resilience and industrial growth.

The opportunity ahead is not simply to be part of the regional investment conversation. It is to make clear that Puerto Rico offers something fundamentally different.

As Puerto Rico continues to engage with global investors at platforms like the SelectUSA Investment Summit, the focus is clear: not just to be part of the conversation, but to be part of the decisions that follow.

At a time when companies are looking for certainty as much as opportunity, Puerto Rico can offer both. It combines the strategic advantages of geography with the institutional advantages of being part of the United States

And in a market where capital is moving more carefully, Puerto Rico is not just attracting attention; it is converting it into investment.