UK to Announce 'Freeports' Sites This Year in Preparation for 2021 Launch
The United Kingdom plans to announce the locations of its 10 “freeports” before the end of the year and launch them in 2021, the UK said Feb. 10. The ports, which will reduce certain customs and tariff-related costs in a bid to boost trade, will open “across the UK” and help Britain's “post-Brexit growth,” the U.K. said. The U.K. previously named several candidates for the ports, including Teesport, the Port of Tyne, Milford Haven and London Gateway (see 1908020025). The UK also opened a consultation to “inform the government’s freeports policy,” which outlines benefits offered by the ports, including “tariff flexibility, customs facilitations and tax measures.”
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The U.K. proposed several features to benefit traders using the ports, including zero tariffs until goods leave the port and enter the domestic market, zero duties if the goods are re-exported, and “innovative environments to trial new technologies.” The U.K. is also considering removing a requirement to submit a full customs declaration to move goods into the ports, which would save companies time and make it “easier to import goods.”
The U.K. wants to draw from “successful freeports around the world” to develop its model while also taking into account feedback received from a “formal consultation” process. The U.K. also said it intends to “allow freeports to be created” in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The measures will “unleash the potential of our historic ports,” U.K. Trade Secretary Elizabeth Truss said in a statement. “These hubs will also deepen partnerships around the world as we restore our economic and political independence.”