Port Technology on 18th June carried an article about a report that claims that an opportunity for key ‘supercharged’ ports in the UK could give the country a $10 billion boost and create 17,500 jobs. The report has been compiled by former Treasury economist Chris Walker for construction company Mace. The 7 free ports the report proposes are Immingham & Grimsby, Hull, Rivers Hull & Humber, Tees & Hartlepool, Liverpool, Tyne and Manchester Airport. The website says that the Daily Telegraph reports that UK International Trade Secretary Liam Fox is privately backing a plan as outlined in the Mace report.
NOTE: “freeports”, known as free zones in EU parlance, used to exist in the UK but fell from use and were phased out, chiefly as alternative customs procedures provided most of their advantages and without the need to be located in a specific site (and surviving sites effectively became little more than industrial estates). Free trade zones (FTZ), which appear to be more like the “supercharged ports” that the report suggests, exist and thrive elsewhere (but, like much else in current customs planning, what could actually be done likely depends on the eventual post-Brexit arrangements agreed with the EU).
https://www.porttechnology.org/news/free_ports_to_give_uk_9_billion_boost
The report can be downloaded at –
https://www.macegroup.com/perspectives/180617-the-ultimate-boost-for-britains-economy
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