For some, it only makes sense to strengthen the state’s trading ties with Puerto Rico, given that Puerto Ricans make up about 8% of Connecticut’s population, the highest percentage in the United States, according to U.S. Census data. This week, the Commerce Committee voted unanimously in favor of a bill that would accomplish that with a new trade commission between the state and the island.
Latino lawmakers introduced House Bill 5008 this legislative session to establish a trade commission between Connecticut and Puerto Rico. The Commerce Committee sent the bill through with 20 votes on Tuesday.
According to the bill, the commission would be charged with promoting business and academic exchanges between the state and Puerto Rico, initiating action on policy issues of mutual interest and encouraging mutual investment in the infrastructure of both places, among other duties.
Commission members would serve without compensation but would be eligible for reimbursement for necessary expenses.
According to State Rep. Geraldo Reyes Jr. of Waterbury, he and his colleagues have been in informal talks about the potential in fostering trade relationships with Puerto Rico for over two years.
“One thing that we all agreed on is that no one's really taken full advantage, or any advantage at all, [of] the skill sets and the opportunity there is in Puerto Rico,” Reyes said.
Building on a foundation
The trade commission would have several members appointed by the governor and leading members of the House and Senate, including two representatives of Puerto Rican communities in the state, a representative of a higher education institution and a representative of a chamber of commerce in the state.
Their work wouldn’t have to start from scratch either. Connecticut already has many businesses that have trade relations with Puerto Rico, Reyes said.
Various big businesses in Connecticut have had partnerships and collaborations with businesses in Puerto Rico, such as Foxwoods creating a casino in San Juan and the WWE, with its headquarters in Stamford, holding its "Backlash" event in Puerto Rico last year.
“One of our first stops was at the WWE site down in Stamford,” Reyes said about him and his colleagues State Reps. Chris Rosario and Juan Candelaria. “We went there and started the conversation about [their] big production in Puerto Rico. Wildly successful. Let's do it again. Let's do it again and maybe plan on expanding on it.”
Workforce shortages and retirement opportunities
Charles Venator Santiago is the director of El Instituto and the Puerto Rican Studies Initiative at the University of Connecticut. According to him, the trade commission would help formalize existing relationships between businesses and universities.
Institutions like Central Connecticut State University and UConn have already had agreements with universities in Puerto Rico, Venator Santiago said. Through the trade commission, those kinds of agreements can be established to create a pipeline of Puerto Rican workers.
“So I can envision, let's say, an engineering student from the University of Mayagüez coming here for one year taking courses at Central Connecticut State University or UConn … getting particular training and being sort of in a position to integrate him or herself into the workforce,” Venator Santiago said.
He said the relationship could also help address concerns of a so-called “brain drain” of skilled workers leaving Puerto Rico.
“We can have engineers from Connecticut go to Puerto Rico [and] have an experience in a different language … to broaden their skills,” Venator Santiago said.
Both Rep. Reyes and Venator Santiago agree that these relations could help address workforce shortages in sectors like engineering, education and agriculture.
Those connections could also open doors for Puerto Rican and other Connecticut residents looking to work or retire on the island.
“I have representatives and senators in Puerto Rico that have huge interest in this, because they see the reciprocal,” Reyes said. “People that are here [in Connecticut] that would like to have a career over there because of the better quality of life after work over there.”
Venator Santiago said this commission can facilitate opportunities for people to telecommute between Connecticut and Puerto Rico, for example. It could also be a means for greater change. He said this trade commission could present an opportunity to start the bigger conversation around Puerto Ricans’ claim to Social Security.
Next steps for the trade commission
During a public hearing with the Commerce Committee on Feb. 11, Venator Santiago said that data from the U.S. Census Bureau so far shows a multi-billion dollar trade possibility between Connecticut and Puerto Rico.
A big reason for that, he explained, was because of the tax incentives that companies could take advantage of.
Venator Santiago explained that Puerto Rico’s territory status as an unincorporated territory means Puerto Rico can be treated as a foreign country or as a state depending on the circumstance.
“So, Puerto Rico right now can be a foreign place for companies,” he said, “which opens up a lot of possibilities for companies who are looking for tax breaks at the same time.”
However, Venator Santiago said a more comprehensive analysis is needed to get a more detailed sense of the economic opportunity. The trade commission could help support that kind of research, he said.
The bill still needs to pass through the House and Senate for the trade commission to be established.
If established, Venator Santiago said the trade commission can create even more opportunities for other Latino communities in Connecticut.
“My experience is that in Connecticut,” he said, “oftentimes the work that's done by Puerto Ricans opens doors for other Latinos to the extent that it challenges structural barriers.”
