In episode #2 we are joined by Dr. José Raúl Perales, Deputy Director of the Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation as we discuss Puerto Rico. We cover:

Puerto Rico’s political status as an unincorporated U.S. territory, and how that impacts the island’s international role.

Puerto Rico’s storied role as a manufacturing platform for U.S. companies, especially for the pharma sector.

How concerns over supply-chain security and overdependence on China may give Puerto Rico an opportunity to attract some manufacturing back.

Industry-specific opportunities in Puerto Rico, for example, business services such as phytosanitary certification for Latin American companies.

Possible obstacles Puerto Rico might face as it tries to become a manufacturing powerhouse once again, such as energy and transport concerns.

How Puerto Rico could form win-win partnerships with other U.S. jurisdiction, such as joint branding of “Made in the USA” products.

In episode #1 we are joined by Rodrigo Guedes Nunes, international business attorney and Vice President at Kaivo Biotech as we discuss Brazil. We cover:

How Brazil is dealing with the COVID-19 crisis and the expected short- and long-term economic effects (teaser: Brazilian businesses are just starting to take it seriously);

What Brazilians think about their largest trading partner, China, and their second-largest trading partner, the U.S. (teaser: China is an important trading partner, but Brazilians generally have more affinity for the U.S. than China);

Why the next several months will provide a unique and unprecedented opportunity for M&A activity for U.S. companies that want to invest in Brazil (teaser: many Brazilian companies with good products and customer bases will need outside capital and partners to survive post-COVID-19);

How Brazilian legislation provides opportunities for foreign investment and how to deal with bureaucracy (teaser: good rule of law, but you need good local advisers to facilitate your plans); and

What is Brazil’s current business environment (teaser: Brazil is open for business and is very pro-Western ideals and developing relationships).