On Saturday, India decided to clear away the trade barriers while signing the India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement with Australia and pledged to double the bilateral trade between the two countries in the coming few years. Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal while addressing the press brief said that the agreement will help in taking bilateral trade from $27 billion to $45-50 billion in the next five years.
He also said that one million jobs would be created in India in the coming five years due to the India, Australia Interim FTA. “We expect one million jobs creation in India in next 4-5 yrs. A number of new opportunities will open for Indian chefs and Yoga instructors in the time to come”, he said as India and Australia inked the agreement in a virtual ceremony attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Australian counterpart Scott Morrison.
#WATCH | Following the virtual signing of India-Australia Economic Cooperation & Trade Agreement, Union Min Piyush Goyal addresses a PC: says, “We expect 1 mn jobs creation in India in next 4-5 yrs. A number of new opportunities will open for Indian chefs & Yoga instructors…” pic.twitter.com/fk6YFwqxbb
— ANI (@ANI) April 2, 2022
The deal was signed between Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and Australian Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment Dan Tehan. PM Modi after the signing of the deal praised the mutual trust between the two countries and said that the deal was truly a watershed moment for bilateral relations.
“There is a great potential between our two economies to fulfil each other’s needs. With this agreement, we will be able to benefit from opportunities. On the basis of this agreement, together we will be able to contribute to increasing supply chains resilience and stability of Indo-Pacific region,” he added.
Strengthening India-Australia economic and trade relations.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) April 2, 2022
https://t.co/uPFd0sWvJM
Meanwhile, the Australian Prime Minister also said that the trade pact signed with India will further ‘deepen our close ties’. “The pace and scale of our cooperation since we announced our comprehensive, strategic partnership has been remarkable. The $282 million in new initiatives that my government has announced including at the summit will drive our expanding cooperation,” he said. Morrison also added that the deal was the single largest Australian investment in India.
It is important to note that Australia offers zero duty access to India for about 96.4 per cent of exports from day one. Also, with this deal, Australia has promised duty-free access to roughly around 12,000 Indian goods (95 per cent) in the Australian market. The scope of the pact will eventually be expanded to cover 100 per cent of Indian goods in the next five years. However, about 70 per cent of Australian products will get duty-free and concessional access to the Indian market under the Economic Co-operation and Trade Agreement.
India’s move to clear away the trade barriers with Australia is to benefit Indian exporters from over 6,000 broad sectors, including major export items like textiles, leather, furniture, jewellery and machinery. India’s goods exports were worth $6.9 billion and imports aggregated to $15.1 billion in 2021.
