The government announced its freeport consultation a few minutes ago. This is what the website says on this exercise:
The government is working to boost economic activity across the UK, ensuring that towns, cities and regions across the country can begin to benefit from the opportunities of leaving the EU. As part of this work, the government aims to create up to 10 freeports in locations across the UK.
The government wants to establish freeports, which have different customs rules than the rest of the country, that are innovative hubs, boost global trade, attract inward investment and increase productivity. In doing so, the government wants freeports to generate employment opportunities to the benefit of some of our most deprived communities around the UK.
The government has the following objectives for UK freeports:
- establish freeports as national hubs for global trade and investment across the UK
- promote regeneration and job creation
- create hotbeds for innovation
The government has drawn on evidence from successful freeports around the world to develop a UK freeport model. The proposed model includes tariff flexibility, customs facilitations and tax measures. We are also considering planning reforms, additional targeted funding for infrastructure improvements and measures to incentivise innovation.
To support this work, we are running a formal consultation to understand your thoughts on the UK's plans for freeports. We aim to feed your views into the policy development process.
We want all the nations of the UK to be able to share in the benefits of freeports. We intend to work with devolved administrations to develop proposals to allow freeports to be created in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, in addition to those in England.
For any further queries on guidance or accessibility, please email freeports@trade.gov.uk.
The consultation document is here. I guarantee that I will be submitting. The supposed claims make no sense at all. Freeports are onshore tax havens. And they should have no place in the UK economy.
I would encourage others to do so.
I will be commenting again on this issue to assist those who want to add comment.
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Been there, done that. We had Freeports in the Eighties (?). There must be academic research on their effectiveness. I recall it was simply transfer of firms in and loss of tax.
Pretty much…
And massive wasted investment in warehousing
Government consultation: – Freeports are going ahead, give us some good ideas to make them more palatable.
I think it would be better to build a shiny silver sports car in Northern Ireland and shovel lots of money at it..
With gull wings?
‘with gull wings’ – of course….and it must be very difficult to clean.
Still it will speed over that bridge to Scotland – no need for any paperwork.
and with time travel for the weekends to the the golden age of the past!
I think that this should be seen as part of the threat to the EU in the forthcoming negotiations. I doubt that they will be impressed, knowing full well the incompetence at the heart of UK government.
Immediate thought,
…”the government wants freeports to generate employment opportunities to the benefit of some of our most deprived communities around the UK.”
Translation:” Freeports will be located where cheap labour can be obtained.”
While we’re at it why don’t we have some really big super casinos in the deprived areas too. What could possibly go wrong?
This is plainly nonsense on stilts, like the bridge from Scotland to Northern Ireland. And they must know it. So, what are they trying to distract us from?
Brexit
See blog on its way this morning…
[…] it is knowingly imposing. For evidence, we need only look at the freeport consultation, to which I referred yesterday. In the consultation document the government […]