India-Australia FTA to come into effect on December 29: Piyush Goyal
New Delhi, November 30, 2022
Earlier in the day, Australian minister for Trade and Tourism Don Farrell had also announced the date of commencement of the India-Australia free trade agreement
The free trade agreement between India and Australia will come into force from December 29, minister of commerce and industry Piyush Goyal said on Wednesday.
"Economic Cooperation & Trade Agreement realised under the guidance of leaders on both countries, comes into effect from December 29, 2022," Goyal wrote on Twitter.
India & Australia consolidate their long-standing partnership.
Economic Cooperation & Trade Agreement, realised under the guidance of leaders on both countries, comes into effect from December 29, 2022.
It is the dawn of a whole new era for our businesses & people. pic.twitter.com/69YzR0h62G
— Piyush Goyal (@PiyushGoyal) November 30, 2022
Earlier in the day, Australian minister for Trade and Tourism Don Farrell had also announced the date of commencement of the FTA.
"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)," Farrell said in a statement.
The FTA will help almost double the bilateral commerce to USD 45-50 billion in around five years. "This trade agreement will deliver new market access opportunities for Australian businesses and consumers from 29 December 2022," Farrell said.
The agreement, which was signed on April 2, 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, a 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 USD 8.3 billion and imports from the country aggregated to USD 16.75 billion in 2021-22.
[The Business Standard]
