This is truly a turning point for India-Australia ties, Prime Minister Modi said
This is truly a turning point for India-Australia ties, Prime Minister Modi said
India and Australia signed an economic cooperation and trade agreement on April 2 whereby Canberra would grant duty-free access to over 95% of Indian goods such as textiles, leather, jewelery and sporting goods in its market.
The India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement was signed by Trade and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and Australian Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment Dan Tehan in a virtual ceremony attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Australian counterpart Scott Morrison.
This is truly a turning point for India-Australia ties, Prime Minister Modi said.
Mr Morrison added that the pact will further deepen Australia’s close ties with India.
The deal will help boost bilateral trade from $27 billion to $45-50 billion over the next five years, Mr Goyal said.
The India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement was signed by Minister Piyush Goyal and Australian Minister Dan Tehan in a virtual ceremony attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Australian counterpart Scott Morrison. Photo: Twitter/@PiyushGoyal
Australia offers duty-free access to India for about 96.4% of exports (by value) from day one. This applies to many products which currently incur 4-5% customs duties in Australia.
Labor-intensive sectors that would benefit immensely include textiles and clothing, fewer agricultural and seafood products, leather, shoes, furniture, sporting goods, jewellery, machinery, electronics and railroad cars.
Australia is India’s 17th largest trading partner, while New Delhi is Canberra’s 9th largest partner. Bilateral trade in goods and services amounted to US$27.5 billion in 2021.
India’s merchandise exports were US$6.9 billion in 2021 and imports were US$15.1 billion.
India’s top exports to Australia include petroleum products, textiles and clothing, engineered goods, leather, chemicals, and gems and jewellery.
Imports mainly include raw materials, coal, minerals and intermediates.
