Free ports ‘could bring in £4.7bn’
INDUSTRY: Creating “supercharged” free ports in Leave-voting areas in Yorkshire and Humber could boost the region’s economy by £4.7bn a year and help create almost 80,000 high-value jobs, it is claimed. If the UK leaves the EU customs union, the Government will be able to lift import tariffs at ports in the region.
CREATING “SUPERCHARGED” free ports in Leave-voting areas in Yorkshire and Humber could boost the region’s economy by £4.7bn a year and help create almost 80,000 high-value jobs, according to a new study.
If Theresa May fulfils her commitment to leave the EU customs union, the Government will be able to lift import tariffs at ports in the region.
Combining free ports across the North with local enterprise zones, which receive tax relief and encourage private investment, could boost international trade and add £9bn a year to Britain’s economy as a whole, the equivalent of £1,500 a year for every northern household, and create more than 150,000 jobs .
The study, by former Treasury economist Chris Walker for construction firm Mace, earmarks Immingham and Grimsby ports, Hull port, the rivers Hull and Humber, as well as Tees and Hartlepool as potential locations for “supercharged” free ports.
Liverpool, the Tyne, and Manchester Airport are also recommended as potential sites.
All the areas are ranked highly on the Government’s multiple deprivation index and some were among the strongest Leave-voting areas in the EU referendum.
Former Treasury Minister Jim O’Neill, an architect of the Northern Powerhouse, said: “Rebalancing the UK’s economy is crucial to the future success of the whole country. The creation of free ports in the North of England will create opportunity, boost growth and free businesses to compete on the global stage”
Conservative Tees Valley mayor Ben Houchen added: “This report confirms what I have been saying for a very long time, that a free port in the Tees Valley will be transformational for our region and vital in a post-Brexit Britain.
“When we leave the EU, Britain will find itself with the freedom to be an outward-looking country trading with the entire world.
“The Tees Valley is already attracting international investment and a free port, with all the benefits they bring for business, will make our region an international magnet for even more investment. All this means is more jobs for local people and a huge boost to our economy.”
Steve Gillingham, director for the North at Mace, said: “Our ports in the North, including Hull, Immingham and Grimsby, make up some of our country’s greatest assets.
“Transforming these into supercharged free ports, as this report suggests, would ensure the North is well placed to drive postBrexit growth and help rebalance the UK economy. This would not only drive industrial and economic development, but also create thousands of jobs which would in turn help to reduce inequality across Yorkshire.”
The analysis was carried out using UK trade policy assumptions and data from existing free ports or free trade zones around the world.
The idea of creating “supercharged” free ports has proved popular with the general public. According to private polling carried out by Survation for the report, four out of five people (83 per cent) in the UK and 60 per cent in Yorkshire and the Humber would support the proposal.
The Prime Minister has made quitting the EU customs union, with its common external tariff, a priority in Brexit negotiations so the UK can strike free trade deals around the world, but the UK and EU have not yet agreed on how the plan can also maintain a soft Irish border.
Survation carried out an online survey of 2012 British adults from May 31 -June 4, and the sample was weighted to profile all UK adults based on voting records.