free port

American  

noun

1. a port or special section of a port where goods may be unloaded, stored, and shipped without payment of customs duties.

2. a port open under equal conditions to all traders.

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free port British  

noun

1. a port open to all commercial vessels on equal terms

2. Also called: free zone.  a zone adjoining a port that permits the duty-free entry of foreign goods intended for re-export

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Etymology

Origin of free port

First recorded in 1705–15

Example Sentences

Odesa’s free port status financed its extraordinary architectural flowering in the 1800s and helped build its vibrant multiethnic society.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 21, 2024

Congress actually passed a bill in 1932 making these buildings a free port, which enabled importers to bring goods in duty free and store them on the premises — a commercial masterstroke.

From New York Times • Apr. 15, 2020

After all, this is what has happened in Shannon - free port status was not really compatible with membership of the EU, and the tax breaks were whittled away until they finally disappeared in 2016.

From BBC • Nov. 28, 2018

Returning to its pre-revolutionary status of a free port, Vladivostok and the region is now subject to special custom and tax rules.

From The Guardian • Dec. 18, 2015

The Standard Weight for Agricultural Produce Act and an Act declaring Port Albany, Cape York, a free port also became law, as well as a number of legal statutes.

From Our First Half-Century: A Review of Queensland Progress Based Upon Official Information by Queensland