New Delhi: The Interim Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between India and Australia will come into effect from today, i.e, Dec 29. After this effect, there will be no duty on exports of more than six thousand products from India to Australia. The agreement was signed on April 2, 2022. According to exporters and industry veterans, the agreement will help double bilateral trade to US$ 45-50 billion in about five years.
The Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA) will provide duty-free access to the Australian market to Indian exporters from over 6,000 sectors including textiles, leather, furniture, jewelry, and machinery. This will bring huge benefits to labor-intensive sectors, including textiles and apparel, agricultural and fishery products, leather, footwear, furniture, sporting goods, jewelry, machinery, and electrical goods.
Khalid Khan, the vice president of the Federation of Indian Export Organizations (FIEO), said that Australia is one of the major markets for Indian exporters. “This agreement will give immense opportunities from Day 1 of implementation that is December 29 for us,” he said. Under the FTA, Australia is offering zero-duty access to about 96.4 percent of exports by value from day one. This includes many products on which Australia currently imposes customs duty of up to five percent. India has exported about $8.3 billion to Australia in 2021-22.