Commerce Minister goyal said that the agreement will help in taking bilateral trade from $27 billion to $45-50 billion in the next five years. The India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement was inked by Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and Australian Minister for Trade, Tourism, and Investment Dan Tehan in a virtual ceremony, in the presence of PM Modi and his Australian counterpart Scott Morrison.
On Sunday, India and Australia signed a trade agreement under which Australia will allow over 95 percent of Indian items, such as textiles, leather, jewellery, and sports goods, duty-free access to its market. The agreement was dubbed “a genuinely watershed moment for India-Australia relations” by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. 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.
India’s goods exports were worth $6.9 billion and imports aggregated to $15.1 billion in 2021. Major exports by India to Australia include petroleum products, textiles and apparel, engineering goods, leather, chemicals and gems, and jewellery. Whereas the imports mainly include raw materials, coal, minerals, and intermediate goods.
