The India-Australia Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement will be a new-age FTA, which would cover not just traditional pillars like goods, services and investments but also broad range of other critical areas, including government procurement, logistics, standards and rules of origin.
Commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal held “comprehensive talks” with his Australian counterpart Dan Tehan in New Delhi on Thursday to firm up an interim trade deal at the earliest.
In December, both the countries decided to expedite the pace of negotiations for the early-harvest deal, which will be followed up with a broader free trade agreement (FTA).
“We had an engaging discussion on ways to further deepen India-Australia economic and trade ties,” Goyal tweeted. A joint press conference is scheduled for Friday.
The India-Australia Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement will be a new-age FTA, which would cover not just traditional pillars like goods, services and investments but also broad range of other critical areas, including government procurement, logistics, standards and rules of origin.
Goyal has been striving to get duty concession for Indian products in critical sectors, including agriculture and textiles, and greater market access in pharmaceuticals.
India had a merchandise trade deficit of $4.2 billion with Australia in FY21, as it shipped out goods worth over only $4 billion, while bilateral trade stood at $12.3 billion. Majorly traded items include mineral fuels, pharmaceutical products, organic chemicals and gem and jewellery.
The negotiations with Australia are a part of India’s broader strategy to forge “fair and balanced” trade agreements with key economies and revamp existing pacts to boost trade. The move gained traction after India pulled out of the China-dominated RCEP talks in November 2019.Balanced FTAs are expected to also enable the country to take advantage of a resurgence of industrial demand in advanced economies and achieve sustained growth rates in exports in the coming years. Already, India has set an ambitious merchandise export target of $1 trillion by FY28. In the current fiscal, it’s on course to realize the lofty export target of $400 billion, against $291 billion in FY21.
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