The West of England Combined Authority (WECA) has put in a bid for freeport status for the area around Bristol Port. It would include tax and customs sites at Avonmouth and Severnside, Junction 21 Enterprise Area and Gravity Smart Campus. The bid follows the government’s announcement that it will create up to ten freeports around the UK which would each allow companies to import goods on a tariff-free basis, paying once sold in the UK market, or to export the finished goods without paying UK tariffs. If successful, the ‘Great Western Freeport’ would create an estimated 50,000 jobs in the Bristol and Bath area.
It is also understood that a further bid is being made for a freeport which would encompass Exeter Airport and Plymouth docks.
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