According to available data, the world's first free trade zone was established in 166 BC on the island of Delos. This year, Greece declared Delos a free trade island.
As the heir of Greek civilization, the Roman Empire followed the idea of global trade by creating free cities (Civitas Libera), which were in effect exempt from paying an annual tribute to the empire, could minted coins and had their own business. In the 12th century AD, the Hanseatic League (a confederation of trading towns under the rule of the Roman Empire and with special laws) revived the free trade zone by establishing trading colonies in northern Europe, notably in Hamburg . However, the biggest initiative in this area was taken in the London Steelyard free trade zone, which was actually a classic country within the country:
A separate, independent town, with its own independent walls and storehouses on the River Thames, with a weighing station, church, auditing centers (banks) and its own residential areas.
According to available data, the modern era of free trade zones emerged in European colonial bases in the form of "semi-independent substates with unique trading privileges", including Macau (1557), Hong Kong (1842) and the China with more than 80 free ports. or the port treaties mentioned. The world today has around 4,000 special economic zones.
Although many people believe that the emergence of FTZs began in the United States with the creation of the FTZ program in 1934, scholars agree that the FTZ movement began in Ireland, which created the Shannon free zone in 1959. This Irish initiative was so successful that other countries quickly followed suit: the Kandela free zone in India (1960); Taiwan's Kaohsiung Export Processing Zone (1967) and subsequent FTZ explosion in China. In fact, China went from zero to 300 special zones in 1980..
Leave your comment