NEW DELHI/MELBOURNE, 2 April 2022: The long-awaited interim free trade deal will be signed today between Australia and India. After many years of talks, the deal will be signed between Australia’s Trade Minister, Dan Tehan, and Piyush Goyal, India’s Minister of Commerce & Industry, Consumer Affairs & Food & Public Distribution and Textiles, in a virtual ceremony. The full text of the deal has not been released. Minister Piyush Goyal is expected to visit Australia next week.
With the signing of this trade pact and the budget-2022, the path for the announcement of the federal election is clear. PM Sco Mo has been claiming warming up of relations with India despite it being the only Quad member not to have condemned Russia over Ukraine. India is also moving towards importing cheaper Russian crude oil under the proposed Rupree-Rouble arrangement, bypassing US-Western sanctions against Russia.
The Australia-India trade deal is one side of the coin and the other side is its upcoming deals with Russia. India’s strategic autonomy has been defined by a journalist as being the “exercise of choice driven purely by sovereign considerations and interest.” One has to wait and see how it evolves in a volatile international situation.
ANI reports: “This agreement opens a big door into the world’s fastest-growing major economy for Australian farmers, manufacturers, producers and so many more,” said the Australian Prime Minister in a statement.
India’s Business Standard reports, ” Tariffs will be eliminated on more than 85% of Australian goods exports to India, worth A$12.6 billion, rising to almost 91% over 10 years.
Under the agreement, 96 percent of Indian goods imports will enter Australia duty-free.
Tariffs will be eliminated on fresh Australian rock lobster, sheep meat, wool, copper, coal, alumina, and certain critical minerals and certain non-ferrous metals to India.
In a boost for Australia’s wine industry, tariffs will be reduced from 150% to 50% over 10 years for bottles valued over US$5, and reduced to 25% in the same period for bottles valued over US$15.
Tariffs of 30% on Australian agricultural produce including avocados, beans, nuts, and berries will be eliminated over seven years.”
The National Chair, Australia India Business Council Mr. Jim Varghese AM said, “As we are coming out of the Covid 19 scenario and seeing the dramatic economic growth in the bilateral trade with CECA, AIBC is fully geared up to engage with both Australian and Indian businesses and stakeholders to continue to promote in a big way and facilitate business to business engagements in a significant manner in coming months of 2022 and beyond ”.
“This Agreement is the start of an important new phase in Australia’s relationship with one of our most significant economic partners and will see Australia business benefit from diversified global supply chains,” Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) chief executive Andrew McKellar said.
Joint Media release from Trade Minister Dan Tehan & PM Scott Morrison, 2 April 2022.
STORY UPDATED at 7.01 pm AEDT, Melbourne
