India and Australia will soon implement the Free Trade Agreement

India and Australia are going to implement the Free Trade Agreement soon. Recently the Australian Parliament has approved it. Now under this agreement, the way of free trade between India and Australia has been opened. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has given information about this after the approval of the Parliament on the ‘Free Trade Agreement’ with India. India’s Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said that the India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement has been passed by the Australian Parliament. Parliament’s approval is necessary for any such agreement in Australia. In India, a decision on such an agreement is taken by the Central Cabinet.

Benefits of India-Australia Free Trade Agreement

• With the implementation of the ‘India-Australia Free Trade Agreement’, duty-free trade between India and Australia will be possible.
• With the help of this, the Australian market will be fully opened to more than 6,000 extensive areas of India, for which no charge will be paid. Along with this, Australia will also get the same right.
• After the implementation of this agreement, many industries of India including leather, textile, furniture, jewelery and machinery will be benefited.
• Under this agreement, Australia is offering zero duty to India, including many such products which currently attract customs duty of 4-5 percent in Australia.

Importance

• Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal had already said that this agreement will further strengthen bilateral trade, which will benefit both the countries.
• This will give a boost to the business between the two countries. Also, in the next five years, the bilateral trade between the two countries is estimated to increase almost twice. With the help of this, the present mutual business of $ 27.5 billion is expected to reach $ 45-50 billion in the next five years.
• After its implementation, India’s labour-intensive industries will benefit more, including leather, agricultural and fish products, footwear, furniture, sporting goods, jewellery, electrical goods and railway wagon industries.
• Under this agreement, around 85% of Australia’s exports will get zero duty access to the Indian market. Which includes coal, sheep meat and wool industry, Australian wine, almonds, pulses etc.

India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement

• India and Australia had initiated India-Australia Free Trade by signing the historic trade agreement, India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement. In February 2022, India and Australia signed this agreement.