India, Australia sign trade deal to open 'biggest economic door'
Categories: FOREIGN OR INDIAN NEWS
India and Australia on Saturday signed a trade agreement that will open “one of the biggest economic doors there is to open in the world today”.It will provide duty-free access in its market for over 6,000 broad sectors of India, including textiles, leather, furniture, jewellery and machinery.The India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (IndAus ECTA) was inked by Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and Australian Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment Dan Tehan in a virtual ceremony The deal with India removes tariffs on more than 85 per cent of Australian goods exports to India, worth A$12.6 billion, rising to almost 91 per cent over 10 years.Goyal said the agreement would help in taking bilateral trade from $27.5 billion at present to $45-50 billion in the next five years.India and Australia are "natural partners, connected by shared values of democracy, rule of law and transparency", Goyal said."Our relationship rests on the pillars of trust and reliability aptly reflected in our deepening geo-strategic engagement through the QUAD and the supply chain resilience initiative." "Post study work visas will provide extended options for working in Australia to eligible Indian graduates, post graduates and STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) specialists," he said.Morrison said “I have very strong hope, no matter who fills our chairs going forward, we’ll be able to … build on this ground-breaking agreement.” "This agreement has been built on our strong security partnership and our joint efforts in the Quad, which has created the opportunity for our economic relationship to advance to a new level," he added.