Safe Harbor

The categories and types of special economic zones, free trade zones and just plain free zones sometimes can seem as numerous as the zones themselves. Their boundaries can shift and jump depending on community and company needs. And even as some zones merge or disappear (Mexico’s government repealed several SEZs late last year) new zones are being formed and named all the time. China’s State Council in September, for instance, announced that it will establish three new pilot free trade zones (FTZs) in Beijing, Hunan, and Anhui and expand the FTZ in Zhejiang.

As explained by Dezan, Shira & Associates, “pilot free trade zones are areas marked out by the government where a series of test policies are trialed, such as tax cuts, streamlined customs clearance, and/or industry-specific liberalization, which will be replicated and scaled up to the national level if they are successful. This is the seventh batch of FTZs announced since 2013, taking China’s total tally to 21 free trade zones spread across the country.”

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