India, Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement comes into force from today. India and Australia signed the Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA) on the 2nd of April this year. ECTA is the first trade agreement of India with a developed country after more than a decade.
The agreement encompasses cooperation across the entire gamut of bilateral economic and commercial relations between the two friendly countries.
Under this trade agreement, Indian exports will benefit from preferential zero-duty market access in Australia for 100 per cent of its tariff lines. It will benefit India’s labour-intensive sectors such as gems and jewellery, textiles, leather, furniture, food and agricultural products, engineering products, and medical devices.
On the other hand, India has provided preferential access to Australia on over 70 per cent of its tariff lines, which are primarily raw materials and intermediaries. As a result of this agreement, 10 lakh jobs are estimated to be created in the country. The total bilateral trade is expected to cross 45 to 50 billion dollar in five years from the existing 31 billion US dollar.