A recent op-ed in the New Jersey Globe argues New Jersey cannot afford to miss out on the construction boom underway in other states as the pharmaceutical industry relocates overseas research and manufacturing facilities to the US to bolster supply chains and avoid tariffs.
Chrissy Buteas, President and CEO of the HealthCare Institute of New Jersey, and William Mullen, President of the New Jersey Building and Construction Trades Council, wrote that the reshoring of pharmaceutical manufacturing and expansion of domestic facilities presents a rare opportunity for states to capitalize on tens of billions in new construction projects and the jobs and economic activity they will produce.
“Some of these investments and expansions have already been announced – in North Carolina, Delaware, Texas, Indiana, Virginia...the list of other states gaining these investments goes on,” Buteas and Mullen wrote. “Except for a few expansions of existing facilities, New Jersey has barely been on the list, particularly for new facility construction.
“But it’s not too late – there will be more announcements in the coming weeks and months. New Jersey needs to act – and act urgently – to secure our state’s share of this one-in-a-lifetime opportunity construction activity boon,” they said.
New Jersey’s innovation ecosystem, which is tailored to pharmaceutical R&D and manufacturing, along with its highly skilled building trades labor force, are key advantages, but its overall business climate – ranked worst in the nation – is a major disadvantage, they said.
“With the highest corporate tax rate in the country and one of the most challenging permitting gauntlets and most burdensome regulatory environments, companies have lots of states working overtime to recruit them – states with business climates much friendlier than New Jersey’s,” Buteas and Mullen said.
To read the entire op-ed, go here.
