India-Australia: On April 2, India and Australia signed an economic cooperation and trade deal under which Canberra will grant duty-free access to over 95 percent of Indian commodities, including textiles, leather, jewelry, and sports items, in its market.
In the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Australian colleague Scott Morrison, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and Australian Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment Dan Tehan signed the India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement in a virtual ceremony.
Watershed moment between India-Australia
Prime Minister Modi stated that this is a “watershed moment” in India-Australia ties. Mr. Morrison went on to say that the agreement will strengthen Australia’s ties with India. According to Mr. Goyal, the agreement will assist boost bilateral trade from $27 billion to $45-50 billion in the next five years.
From the start, Australia will grant India duty-free access to 96.4 percent of its exports (by value). This applies to a wide range of products in Australia that are now subject to a 4-5 percent customs levy. Textiles and clothes, a few agricultural and fish products, leather, footwear, furniture, sports goods, jewelry, machinery, electrical items, and railway trains are all labor-intensive industries that would benefit greatly.
India’s 17th largest trading relationship is Australia, and New Delhi is Canberra’s 9th largest commercial partner. In 2021, bilateral commerce in goods and services was valued at $27.5 billion. In 2021, India’s goods exports totaled $6.9 billion, while imports totaled $15.1 billion.
Petroleum products, textiles and garments, engineering items, leather, chemicals and gems, and jewelry are among India’s top exports to Australia. Raw materials, coal, minerals, and intermediate goods are the most common imports.