UK’s proposed network of free ports is unlikely to pay off
According to researchers, the savings that importers could realise in UK free ports would be only a tiny portion of the value of the goods
London — Rishi Sunak hasn’t yet released his first budget as Britain’s new chancellor of the exchequer, but already his ideas are shaping the post-Brexit economic landscape and will influence the trade negotiations with Brussels that start next week.
Sunak’s proposal that Britain set up a network of free ports was seized upon by Prime Minister Boris Johnson as a way of delivering infrastructure and opportunity to poorer regions after Britain completes its exit from the EU. The plan has its roots in a 2016 report Sunak authored for the the Centre for Policy Studies, a conservative think-tank, arguing that the creation of these special economic zones (SEZ) after Brexit will create up to 86,000 jobs and boost trade and investment in struggling areas...
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