More than 40 years after successfully establishing Los Cidrines, a bread and bakery goods company that recently started exporting its products to the U.S. mainland, Manuel Cidre is ready to take the reins of the Department of Economic Development and Commerce (DDEC by its Spanish acronym), amid Puerto Rico’s most challenging economic scenario in recent history.
The private sector has welcomed Cidre’s nomination. As a successful entrepreneur, Cidre knows firsthand what it takes to run a business on the island.
Cidre was nominated by Gov.-elect Pedro Pierluisi, of the pro-statehood New Progressive Party (NPP), to succeed DDEC Secretary Manuel Laboy, who will continue to serve as the executive director of the Central Office of Recovery, Reconstruction and Resilience. With the transition hearings currently underway, Cidre has already outlined his goals to lift the island’s economy from its present situation.
In a one-on-one with THE WEEKLY JOURNAL, the entrepreneur discussed his proposals to revamp both the government and the economy, and provide a smooth transition from the COVID-19 pandemic to a thriving post-virus Puerto Rico.
Cidre asserted that his management will give continuity to the projects established by the present administration.
“It doesn’t matter that those were initiatives by Secretary Laboy; my responsibility is to move them forward and with that, we are sending an important message, that we came here with a vision to continue and not to eliminate [initiatives] because somebody else proposed them,” he said.
One of these is the goal to reshore pharmaceuticals to the island to bolster the manufacturing sector, which contributes 33 percent of Puerto Rico’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). While he listed the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica and the U.S. mainland as top competitors, he underscored that the island has advantages over these jurisdictions.
“Puerto Rico has operations of medical devices, biopharma and chemical pharmaceuticals, among others, that are already in place and we could attract production lines,” Cidre explained.
To enhance Puerto Rico’s attractiveness as a manufacturing hub, the designated official proposes to postpone the U.S. Treasury Department’s decision to eliminate the excise tax of 4 percent under Act 154-2010 for three years and use the allocated federal funds to improve and repair roads and key infrastructures, like energy, water and technology. The tax is on certain purchases made by American Foreign Controlled Corporations (CFC) whose gross receipts exceed $75 million.
Cidre also intends to incentivize Small and Midsize Enterprises (SMEs), which have been some of the hardest-hit establishments during the pandemic, with thousands of businesses at risk of permanent closure.
“As soon as January, we will identify the funds–be it from CARES [Act], CDBG or whatever we can find–and we will knock on the [federal] legislature’s door to do whatever needs to be done to design a stimulus package that can provide certain stability and permanence to that affected sector,” he detailed.
Through these strategies, Cidre also hopes to retain and regain Puerto Rico’s professional young adults, many of whom have moved stateside to seek better lives. “We must create opportunities… Reshoring offers opportunities, transshipment offers opportunities, and so do incentives to small-business owners,” he added.
Balancing Health and the Economy
THE WEEKLY JOURNAL asked Cidre how his management will harmonize the issues of health and economic recovery, as the first COVID-19 vaccine is starting to be distributed among sectors of the population.
He proposed forging alliances with “important economic sectors like Plaza Las Américas” to serve as coronavirus vaccination points and focusing on opening businesses in an orderly fashion as opposed to using closures as a first resource. Moreover, he acknowledged the executive orders’ business restrictions and surmised that there could be changes to the executive order in place, which expires less than a week into Pierluisi’s administration.
“I believe that there are many things that can be done simultaneously before closing… I think it is something that we should look at from a social and economic perspective. We must find a way for the economy to coexist with the people’s health, being the people’s health a priority, but again, we must learn to coexist,” he affirmed.
As to when he expects an uptick in the economy, Cidre opined that it could start regaining ground “by mid-2021 or during the third quarter” of next year.
