export processing zone

Syllable breakdown

Dictionary meaning

a designated geographic area within a country where goods may be imported, manufactured or processed, and re-exported under special customs and regulatory arrangements, typically including exemption from import duties on inputs, simplified customs procedures, and often relaxed labour and environmental regulations; EPZs have been used extensively by developing countries — most famously in East Asia, Mexico's maquiladora programme, and Bangladesh's garment sector — as a strategy for attracting foreign direct investment, building export capacity, and generating manufacturing employment; critics argue that EPZs create enclaves disconnected from the domestic economy and that their competitiveness depends on suppressing workers' rights and environmental standards