Challenges, threats and new opportunities for the world's Free Zones

The Free Porto of Trieste is strategically located in the North Adriatic Sea and consist of 5 Free Trade Zones, 3 of which have been allotted to commercial activities, namely the Old Free Area, the New Free Area and the Timber Terminal. The remaining two, i.e. the Mineral Oils Free Area and the “Canale di Zaule” Free Area, are used for industrial activities. In the sector of industrial traffic, the Transalpine Pipeline Terminal (TAL) plays a special role, serving Austria, Germany and Czech Republic. The TAL Terminal has a capacity of over 50 million tons a year, with pumping and storage stations with a capacity of 2 million tons. Of the 2,304,000 m2 of port area , 1,765,000 m2 are Free Zones, 925,00 m2 are warehouses and storage areas, 500,000 of which are covered. The Free Zone (Free Port) concept is 2,000 years old and it is associated to those populations devoted to maritime navigation and free trade (the Chaldees, the Phoenicians, the Carthaginians, the Egyptians). The growth of Free Zones is one of the most significant economic, social and institutional innovations of the latest 20 years. There are a lot of successful Free Zones all over the world. The main international conventions affecting the regulation and functioning of Free Zones are the revised Kyoto convention on the simplification and harmonization of customs procedure-Annex D2, the WTO agreement on subsidies and countervailing measures