How Boneheaded DC Idiots Shipped Our Pills to Puerto Rico – Then Let China Steal the Show, Screwing America Blind
Listen up, you red-blooded patriots, because if there’s one thing that boils my blood more than a soy latte-sipping leftist preaching about “equity,” it’s how our own swamp-dwelling morons in Washington handed Big Pharma a golden ticket to Puerto Rico, turned it into a pill paradise, and then yanked the rug out so hard that our drug supply chain ended up in the clutches of commie China. Yeah, we’re talking about that genius move under Bill Clinton in 1996 – phasing out Section 936 of the Internal Revenue Code, a tax break that had pharma cranking out meds on American soil (well, territory) like nobody’s business. What started as a smart play to keep jobs stateside morphed into a disaster that offshored our lifesavers to adversaries who’d love to watch us choke. Fast-forward to 2025, and Trump’s finally fighting back, but the damage from this stupidity? It’s epic, it’s ongoing, and it’s why America First means bringing every damn capsule back home before Beijing decides to play hardball.
Let’s dive deep into this mess, because the devil’s in the details, and boy, did the devils in DC screw the pooch. Back in the 1960s, pharma wasn’t some globalist grift; it was building up right here in the U.S. of A. Eli Lilly kicked things off in 1960 with their first plant in Puerto Rico, and by the 1970s and 1980s, the island was a powerhouse – home to 10 of the world’s top 20 pharma firms, leading in biotech, and churning out drugs like there was no tomorrow. We’re talking the “Medicine Cabinet of the U.S.,” with the densest concentration of pharma facilities on the planet. By 2018, Puerto Rico was pumping out 22% of total U.S. pharmaceutical exports – way ahead of mainland states like Indiana – raking in $40 billion a year, which was 30% of the island’s manufacturing sector and employing over 90,000 folks. Exports hit $44 billion by 2019, with $30.89 billion going straight to the American market. Giants like Abbott, AstraZeneca, and Amgen set up shop, and why not? It was American territory, no tariffs, and the pills were made under U.S. standards.
The rocket fuel? Federal tax incentives, baby – especially Section 936, jammed into the 1976 Tax Reform Act. This beauty let U.S. corporations repatriate profits from Puerto Rico tax-free if they played by the rules, handing out massive breaks averaging $70,788 per employee for pharma in 1987. Add in a puny 4% corporate income tax rate, 50% credits for R&D and manufacturing, and free trade zone perks slashing customs duties, and boom – the chemical and pharma sectors sucked up the lion’s share of benefits. From 1976 to 1996, Puerto Rico’s economy grew 2.5% annually, all while pharma got over half the tax credits but only coughed up 18% of the jobs. Tax savings? Up to 267% of the income generated for local workers in some cases. It wasn’t perfect – labor costs got slashed as companies automated – but it kept manufacturing domestic, jobs flowing, and our supply chain secure.
Then came the idiots. In 1996, Slick Willie Clinton and his crew decided Section 936 was too “corporate welfare” or whatever leftist buzzword they spun, phasing it out over 10 years until it flatlined in 2006. What happened? Catastrophe. Plant closures hit like a hurricane – before the actual ones – jobs vanished, and the economy tanked. Manufacturing nosedived, with no big bump in establishments, value added, or employment to show for the “reform.” Pharma dispersed globally, chasing the next cheap thrill. Many headed to India and – surprise – China, where costs were dirt low and regulations? What regulations? Suddenly, our generics – the backbone of American medicine – were reliant on foreign factories, with China cornering the market on active ingredients and raw materials. By 2017, Hurricane Maria exposed the fragility: Puerto Rico’s remaining plants got hammered, shortages rippled nationwide, and we realized we’d traded self-reliance for globalist garbage.
Fast-forward to the mess we’re in now, August 15, 2025. Puerto Rico’s still a player – over $50 billion in annual pharma exports, employing 78,000, supplying critical drugs worldwide. But growth’s stalled, hammered by competition from spots like Costa Rica and skimpy venture capital – just $5.46 million from 2016-2019. Tax breaks from 2017-2023 handed manufacturing $100.5 billion, plus another $140 billion skirted by top firms through offshore havens, but locals get scraps: low wages, sketchy safety, and calls to scrap the incentives for community cash. Recent revelations? On April 22, 2025, tax reform proposals ditched inventory taxes on prescription meds to juice the sector. By May 2, the Parenteral Drug Association’s Puerto Rico chapter reignited, pushing AI and collaboration. June 1 saw Puerto Rico hyped as a reshoring haven – tariff-free, cost-effective for biopharma. On June 9, it was called the “smart choice” for dodging global trade wars. June 18 spotlighted focus on high-value biologics for oncology and diabetes. July 7, at BIO International 2025, the island flexed its bioscience muscle with new investments and partnerships. And July 28 outlined priorities: economic growth, better healthcare, community support.
But here’s the kicker – this resurgence is Trump’s doing, fighting the offshoring Clinton unleashed. Just days ago, on August 13, Trump signed an executive order refilling the Strategic Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients Reserve, slamming China’s dominance (they control 95% of core ingredients for generics) and prioritizing U.S.-made stuff. It’s a direct shot at the dependency born from that 1996 blunder. Efforts post-Maria in 2017 and COVID-19 screamed for reshoring, but only now, with America First in charge, are we seeing real moves – like turning Puerto Rico from a has-been hub into an innovation enterprise, free from Beijing’s boot.
Clinton’s “reform”? Stupid doesn’t cover it – it was suicidal, dispersing our pharma muscle to enemies while crashing Puerto Rico’s economy. We lost jobs, security, and billions, all for some virtue-signaling tax tweak that benefited no one but globalists. Trump’s flipping the script: Bring it home, stockpile smart, and tell China to pound sand. America First means making our meds here – mainland or territory – not begging adversaries for basics. Wake up, DC dummies: Your “fixes” broke us. Time to build back better – the Trump way, or get out of the road.