The UK has now left the European Union. While still a source of bitter disagreement, there appears to be a degree of cross-party acceptance that, like it or loathe it, we must now do all we can to make the best of Brexit. At the heart of arguments on both sides of the debate has been the future of the UK's ports. On the one hand, some commentators have speculated that if a rock-solid trade agreement is not reached, new customs checks could lead to paralysis; Kent,it has been suggested, could become one giant car park. On the other hand, Brexiteers argue that leaving the EU will allow the UK to designate areas as free ports to encourage inward investment and potentially contribute to prime minister Boris Johnson's so-called levelling up' agenda. Free ports or zones are designated by the government as areas with little to no tax in order to encourage economic activity. While located geographically within a country, they essentially exist outside of its borders for tax purposes. If free ports are created in the North, the proposition goes, the economic development gains could be huge.
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