- Friday, April 26, 2024
By: Shubham Ghosh
The free trade agreement (FTA) between India and Australia will come into force from December 29, a move which will help in almost doubling the bilateral commerce to $45-50 billion (£38-42 billion) in around five years.
“The (Anthony) Albanese government welcomes confirmation today that the Indian Government has completed its domestic requirements to enable implementation of the Australia-India Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA),” Australian minister for trade and tourism Don Farrell said in a statement on Wednesday (30).
🇦🇺 Minister for Trade & Tourism Don Farrell: “Closer economic ties with 🇮🇳 are a critical component of the Govt's trade diversification strategy.” Welcome passing of #ECTA in the 🇦🇺 Parliament today – it will provide new & exciting growth opportunities for 🇦🇺&🇮🇳 businesses. (1/2) https://t.co/QWdwtuKZCZ pic.twitter.com/IbeYGLhqGt
— Barry O’Farrell AO (@AusHCIndia) November 22, 2022
🔗 to the Media Release by Australia's Minister for Trade and Tourism Senator the Hon Don Farrell: https://t.co/bp5lMvHpxE @PiyushGoyal @PiyushGoyalOffc @CimGOI @DoC_GoI (2/2)
— Barry O’Farrell AO (@AusHCIndia) November 22, 2022
“This trade agreement will deliver new market access opportunities for Australian businesses and consumers from 29 December 2022,” it said.
The agreement, which was signed on April 2 this year, would provide duty-free access to Indian exporters of over 6,000 broad sectors, including textiles, leather, furniture, jewellery and machinery in the Australian market.
Labour-intensive sectors which would gain immensely include textiles and apparel, few agricultural and fish products, leather, footwear, furniture, sports goods, jewellery, machinery, and electrical goods.
Under the pact, Australia is offering zero-duty access to India for about 96.4 per cent of exports (by value) from day one. This covers many products that currently attract 4-5 per cent customs duty in Australia. India’s goods exports to Australia stood at $8.3 billion (£7 billion) and imports from the country aggregated to $16.75 billion (£14 billion) in 2021-22.
