Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether goods processed and produced in a freeport in the UK, regardless of their prior origin, are entitled to the arrangements for goods originating in the UK for the purposes of trade with the EU, as governed by the EU-UK Trade and Co-operation Agreement; and which provisions in that treaty specify that treatment.

Goods processed and produced in a Freeport and then exported are subject to the relevant rules of origin under the applicable FTA.

This means to be considered as “originating” for the purpose of the TCA, goods processed and produced in a Freeport will need to satisfy the rules outlined in Chapter 2 Title 1 Part 2 of the TCA and the corresponding Annex ORIG-2. Goods processed and produced in a Freeport will benefit from the same rights to preferential access as other UK goods.

Businesses operating within Freeport customs sites can take advantage of tariff benefits, including import duty deferral while the goods remain on site, and duty inversion if the finished goods exiting the Freeport attract a lower tariff than their component parts. The Freeport customs offer for businesses also includes the ability to import goods into customs site with the duty suspended and subsequently re-exporting without paying the duty.