Australia ratifies ECTA trade deal with India

The ECTA would give a big boost to several sectors of the economy, including textiles and will lead to the creation of 10 lakh jobs, minister Goyal said. The agreement was finalised after extensive and exhaustive stakeholder consultations and was unanimously accepted and supported by all quarters.

Goyal observed that the agreement reflected the confidence and trust between the two countries, and India’s growing stature in the world. He said that ECTA would further deepen India’s relationship with Australia, a vibrant democracy which shared several of India’s interests.

Ind-Aus ECTA, which was signed on April 2, 2022, is now ready for ratification for its early implementation, with the Ind-Aus ECTA Bill and the DTAA amendment bill being passed by the Australian Parliament yesterday and is being placed before Executive Council to get Royal Assent. The agreement will enter into force shortly, on a mutually convenient date once both the sides have completed their domestic processes, the ministry of commerce and industry said in a media release.

Australia is an important strategic partner of India, and both the democracies are part of the four nation QUAD, Trilateral Supply Chain Initiative, and the Indo-Pacific Economic Forum (IPEF). The trade relationship facilitated through ECTA will open a new chapter on India-Australia Comprehensive Economic Partnership between two vibrant economies with shared interest and trade complementarities. This agreement initiated by the Prime Ministers of both the sides, is the cornerstone of our multi-faceted bilateral relations.

ECTA provides for an institutional mechanism to encourage and improve trade between the two countries. It is expected that with this agreement, the total bilateral trade will cross $45-50 billion in 5 years from existing $31 billion. India’s merchandise exports are likely to increase by $10 billion by 2026-27.

Around 96 per cent of Australia’s exports are raw materials and intermediate products which will allow many Indian industries to get cheaper raw materials and make them competitive.

As part of the commitments under ECTA, for the Comprehensive Ind-Aus ECTA, chief negotiators from both the sides will have a meeting shortly to finalise the scoping document.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (KD)