- next steps set out today for the creation of Freeports,
driving investment and creating jobs after the end of the
transition period
- Freeport bidding process in England to open before the end of
the year
- the first Freeports on track to be open by the end of 2021
Responding to the consultation on the proposals the government
confirmed that sea, air and rail ports in England will be invited
to bid for Freeport status before the end of the year, with the
government aiming for the first of the new sites to be open for
business in 2021.
It also confirmed the Freeports will benefit from:
- streamlined planning processes to aid brownfield
redevelopment
- a package of tax reliefs to help drive jobs, growth and
innovation
- simplified customs procedures and duty suspensions on goods
Seizing on the opportunities presented by leaving the EU,
Freeports will be created across the nation to help drive
Britain’s post-Brexit growth.
Designed to attract major domestic and international investment,
the hubs of enterprise will allow places to carry out business
inside a country’s land border but where different customs rules
apply. They have been successfully used in countries around the
world to drive prosperity and boost trade.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer, , said:
Our new Freeports will create national hubs for trade,
innovation and commerce, regenerating communities across the UK
and supporting jobs.
They will attract investment from around the world as we
embrace new opportunities following our departure from the EU
and will be a key driver for economic recovery as we build back
better post coronavirus.
The government is working constructively and collaboratively with
the devolved administrations to seek to establish at least one
Freeport in each nation of the UK.
- At the centre of the new Freeports policy is an ambitious new
customs model, drawing on international best practice. The
flexible model will improve upon both the UK’s existing customs
arrangements and the Freeports the UK had previously.
- The government will also introduce a package of tax reliefs
on investment by businesses within Freeport tax sites, new
measures to speed up planning processes to accelerate development
in and around Freeports and new initiatives to encourage
innovators to generate new ideas to create additional economic
growth and jobs.
- A firm can import goods into a Freeport without paying
tariffs, process them into a final good and then either pay a
tariff on goods sold into the domestic market, or export the
final goods without paying UK tariffs.
- The government wishes to deliver Freeports as soon as
possible and will make further announcements in due course.
- We want all the nations of the UK to share in the benefits of
Freeports. As such, we are working constructively and
collaboratively with the devolved administrations to ensure
Freeports are a UK-wide offer that will enable the creation of
Freeports in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
- Freeports will be selected through a fair, transparent and
competitive process, and will be expected to collaborate closely
with key partners across the public and private sectors. The
Bidding Process for locations to become a Freeport in England
will open by the end of 2020.
- See the Freeports Response to
the Consultation.
