India and Australia entered the Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA) on April 22, 2022. However, it was only recently that it came into force after passing through hierarchies of formalities and the exchange of written instruments.
“The Department of Commerce has achieved the unique distinction of operationalizing two trade agreements this year—the India-UAE Free Trade Agreement and the India-Australia Economic Cooperation Trade Agreement,” said Rajesh Agrawal, Additional Secretary, Department of Commerce and Industry. The entry into force of the Indo-Aus ECTA brings together two major world economies: India, the world’s fifth-largest economy, and Australia, the world’s fourteenth-largest economy. Since the trade between the two countries is hugely complementary, this offers opportunities on both sides and will pave the way for a win-win solution for both India and Australia.”
Furthermore, talking about the present trade trends between the two countries, Piyush Goyal, Union Commerce, and Industry Minister, said, “There is a lot of potential for exporting finished goods to Australia since they hardly manufacture anything and are largely a raw material and intermediate product producing country. We will get cheaper raw materials, which will not only make us more competitive globally but also enable us to serve Indian consumers better; enabling us to provide more quality goods at more affordable prices.” He added, “Australia, which is largely dependent on imports, will benefit hugely, they will soon start seeing a lot more finished goods coming in from India, providing a huge amount of work and job opportunities in both goods and services, provided by Indian talent.”
The #IndAusECTA covers the following major areas:
- Trade in Goods
- Trade in Services
- Rules of Origin
- Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) and Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) measures
- Customs Procedures and Trade Facilitation
- Trade Remedies
- Legal & Institutional Issues
- Movement of Natural Persons
