Australian Parliament Approves Free Trade Agreement with India, PM Modi Expresses Gratitude

The free trade agreement between Australia and India signed in April was approved by the Australian Parliament on Tuesday, clearing the road for its implementation at a later date. This action would help to virtually double the two-way trade to USD 45–50 billion in approximately five years. The agreement is anticipated to go into effect from January 2023 onwards.

Owing to this agreement, the Indian exporters will have a duty-free access to the Australian market for over 6,000 diverse products, including textiles, leather, furniture, jewellery, and machinery.

Textiles and clothes, a few agricultural and fish products, leather goods, furniture, sporting goods, jewellery, machinery, and electrical items are just a few labour-intensive industries that would greatly benefit.

As per Piyush Goyal, minister of commerce and industry, the agreement will likely increase bilateral trade from its current level of USD 31 billion to USD 45-50 billion over the next five to six years.

After the trade pacts with the UAE and Mauritius, this was the third such agreement that this government had signed.

Australia will open all of its product lines without any limitations, not even quotas. Australia has never done anything like this before for a nation... When Australian investment comes to this country, we see job prospects, Goyal told local reporters.

Both nations will choose a date and begin enforcing the agreement as soon as they receive approval from the Australian Executive Council and the Indian President.

Although the minister did not specify a timeframe, the official sources indicated that the agreement might be put into effect on January 1 of the next year.

On Tuesday, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese took to his Twitter handle and wrote, "BREAKING: Our Free Trade Agreement with India has passed through parliament".

Responding to Albanese, Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote in a tweet, "Thank you PM @AlboMP! The entry into force of IndAus ECTA will be greatly welcomed by our business communities, and will further strengthen the India-Australia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership".

Before going into effect, the Australian Parliament has to ratify the India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA). In India, such agreements are given the Union Cabinet's blessing.

The ECTA will go into effect 30 days (or another mutually agreed upon time) after the respective parties have declared in writing that they have finished their domestic procedures, according to Australia's Minister for Trade and Tourism Don Farrell. He further added that they would collaborate closely with the Indian administration to put the trade deal into effect "as quickly as possible."