India, Australia free trade agreement to come into force from Dec 29

NEW DELHI: The free trade agreement between India and Australia will come into force from December 29, a move which will help in almost doubling the bilateral commerce to USD 45-50 billion in around five years.

''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),'' Australian Minister for Trade and Tourism Don Farrell said in a statement on Wednesday.

''This trade agreement will deliver new market access opportunities for Australian businesses and consumers from 29 December 2022,'' it 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, 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.