Australia ratifies Free Trade deal with India; Piyush Goyal hails 'landmark moment'

After the Australian Parliament approved the free trade agreement (FTA) with India, Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal called it a landmark moment for both countries. New Delhi and Canberra would implement the FTA on a mutually agreed date.

Addressing a press briefing, Goyal said, "It is a landmark moment for Australia and India, would like to congratulate the PMs of India and Australia for achieving this significant milestone today. These are two democracies with shared interests on the world stage."

The Union Minister said that this is the first time in Australian history that the country is giving duty-free port on 100% of items. "This is also the first Trade Agreement with a developed country after a decade," Union Minister Goyal said.

"Visas for Indian chefs amd Yoga instructors along with the assurance that every child who goes from India to Australia will be given an opportunity for employment there," he said.

'FTA will create job opportunities,' says Goyal

STEM graduates and doctoral students will get four years of work visa in Australia while a Post-Graduate will get 3 years of work visa.

"This (FTA) will create job opportunities. Pharma companies will get a big boost with this," Goyal said. He said that the deal is crucial for Australia to diversify its export from the troubled Chinese market to India and to forge new bilateral trade relations.

The agreement, once implemented, will provide duty-free access to the Australian market for over 6,000 broad sectors of India, including textiles, leather, furniture, jewellery and machinery.

Under the pact, which was signed in April this year, Australia is offering zero-duty access to India for about 96.4% of exports (by value) from day one. This includes many products that presently attract 4-5% customs duty in Australia.

Labour-intensive sectors which would gain significantly include textiles and apparel, a few agricultural and fish products, footwear, furniture, jewellery, leather, machinery, electrical goods, sports goods and railway wagons.

India's goods exports to Australia stood at USD 8.3 billion and imports from the country aggregated to USD 16.75 billion in 2021-22.