Entrepôt

An entrepôt is a transshipment port, city, or trading post where merchandise may be imported, stored, or traded, usually to be exported again. Typically located on a crossroads, river, canal, or maritime trade route, these trade hubs played a critical role in trade during the age of sail. Modern logistics, supply chain networks, and border controls have largely made entrepôts obsolete, or reduced them in number, but the term is still used to refer to duty-free ports or those with a high volume of re-export trade.

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