ABSTRACT
In many cases, the location of businesses in free zone clusters close to or adjacent to seaport or airport facilities has facilitated more convenient and cost-effective operations, with immediate access from free zone to the port or airport facilities for the ease of shipping goods into and out of the zone. Furthermore, where associated businesses are clustered near to each other, such as manufacturers, suppliers and logistics providers, supply and movement costs are reduced to a minimum. Indeed, much of the free zone concept in the US and the Americas in general has been to enable companies to import and manufacture goods for the domestic sector, rather than for export, although one of the primary objectives of the Manaus free zone has always been to stimulate customs-controlled production for the export of goods to the international sector. In a global arena crowded with both nationally/regionally promoted and private sector-led special economic zones competing for every amount of new business available.
