The India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA), which could double bilateral trade to almost $50 billion in the next five years, was put into force on Thursday, December 29. The agreement was in the works for over 18 months.

Share Market Live

NSE

The ECTA will open a new category of 4-year visas for investors, issue 1,800 new visas to Indian chefs and yoga instructors and also grant students work opportunities after their education.

This trade agreement is expected to bring immediate progress in India's labour-intensive sectors, which will see a removal of 4-5 percent import duty. It is estimated to create 40,000 additional jobs in the Indian textile sector and bring increased mobility for Indian working professionals in 11 sectors, Australian Ambassador to India Barry O'Farrell said.

According to estimates, the ECTA will create 10 lakh jobs in India. The annual immigration quota is expected to benefit Indian chefs and yoga instructors. Under the ECTA, more than one lakh Indian students will gain access to post-study work visas. Also, it is anticipated that the agreement will foster close ties between the two nations and expand investment and export potential, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry said in a press release.

Also read: Coromandel International forms a subsidiary for development of drones

The ECTA gives Indian exporters duty-free access to thousands of domestic goods in the Australian market in over 6,000 broad sectors, including textiles, leather, furniture, jewellery and machinery. It is being called the Unity Agreement across Australia, Goyal said at the press conference in Delhi.

Australia has committed to providing duty-free access to India for 100 percent of its tariff lines. This will make goods coming into Australia from India cheaper than those imported from other nations.

India will get access to 98.3 percent of tariff lines starting today (December 29) and the remaining 1.7 percent in a phased manner over the next five years. Australia has also made commitments in 135 sub-sectors with most-favoured-nation (MFN) status in around 120 sub-sectors. Indian exporters will enjoy greater duty concessions than those in China, Vietnam and Bangladesh.

Also read: India-Australia trade agreement: Piyush Goyal says India can now sell more competitive goods to global market

(Edited by : Shoma Bhattacharjee)

First Published:Dec 29, 2022 7:16 PM IST