Unlike the other FTAs India has and is about to sign, the Australian FTA belongs to the new age.
On Thursday, Indian commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal and his Australian counterpart Dan Tehan will meet in New Delhi for a comprehensive talk to firm up an interim trade deal at the earliest.
Both the countries in December, decided to expedite the pace of negotiations for the early-harvest deal. This will be followed by a broader free trade agreement (FTA).
Goyal tweeted that, they had an engaging discussion on ways to deepen India-Australia economic and trade ties.
The Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement between the two nations will be a new age FTA.
It is because it not just covers traditional pillars like goods, services and investments but also includes a broad range of other critical areas, including government procurement, logistics, standards and rules of origin.
At the same time, Goyal has been trying to get duty concessions for Indian products in critical sectors, such as agriculture and textiles. He is looking for greater market access to pharmaceuticals.
In FY21, India had a merchandise trade deficit of $4.2 billion with Australia. India shipped out goods worth over $4 billion, while the bilateral trade stood at $12.3 billion. Major items include mineral fuels, pharmaceutical products, organic chemicals, gems and jewellery.
Australia is one of many countries with whom India is planning a broader strategy to forge fair and balanced trade agreements with key economies and also to revamp existing pacts to boost trade.
India embraced this policy fully after it pulled out of the China-dominated RCEP talks in November 2019. These balanced FTAs will enable India to take advantage of a resurgence of industrial demand in advanced economies and be an alternative to China.
The government also hopes that it will help to achieve sustained growth rates in exports in the coming years. India already has an ambitious merchandise export target of $1 trillion by FY28.
Currently, India is on course to realise the export target of $400 billion, against $291 billion in FY21.
FTA with UAE is under final stages, while the ones with Israel and UK going actively well. India has also extended its arm towards South Korea. In all India is trying to exploit the supply chain crisis, which has placed China under pressure, for its advantage.
India is also showing its presence in the international trade forums by raising independent voices in WTO and at the COP26 summit.
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