India and Australia on Saturday signed an economic cooperation and trade agreement. Under this agreement, Canberra will provide free markets for over 95 per cent of Indian goods such as textiles, leather, jewelery and sports products. The India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement was signed by Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and Australian Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment Dan Tehan.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison were also virtually present in the virtual ceremony, which was done with the help of technology.
Speaking on the occasion, Prime Minister Modi said that this is indeed an important moment for India-Australia relations. Morrison said the agreement would further deepen Australia’s close ties with India. Commerce Minister Goyal said that the agreement will increase bilateral trade from $27 billion to $45-50 billion in the next five years.
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Australia is offering India zero tax on almost 96.4 per cent of exports (by value) from day one. This includes a number of products that currently attract a customs duty of 4-5 per cent in Australia.
Labor-intensive sectors will benefit from this. These sectors include textiles and apparel, some agricultural and fish products, leather, footwear, furniture, sporting goods, jewellery, machinery, electrical goods and railway wagons. Australia is the 17th largest trading partner of India. While New Delhi is Canberra’s 9th largest partner. Bilateral trade in goods and services stood at US$ 27.5 in 2021.
In the year 2021, India’s goods exports were US$ 6.9 billion and imports were US$ 15.1 billion. Major items of India’s exports to Australia include petroleum products, textiles and apparel, engineering goods, leather, chemicals and gems and jewellery. At the same time, imports from Australia mainly include raw materials, coal, minerals etc.
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