The question demands an explanation of the statement. Introduction: Write a brief note on India-Australia trade agreement. Body: Write 6-7 points on how India-Australia trade agreement will strengthen geo-economic partnership of India and Australia. Conclusion: Write a brief conclusion. |
India and Australia signed an Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA). Currently, Australia is the 17th largest trading partner of India and India is Australia’s 9th largest trading partner. The ECTA is expected to increase trade between the two sides to $45-50 billion over five years, from the current estimate of $27 billion, and create over 10 lakh additional job opportunities.
Significance India-Australia trade agreement:
Boost to bilateral trade: India will give 85% of Australia’s exports zero-duty access to its domestic market. India is expected to get zero-duty access to Australia for its goods over five years. India will also allow Australia to export raw materials under preferential terms like coal and mineral ores.
Services sector: Australia has “offered wide ranging commitments” in around 135 sub-sectors and Most Favoured Nation in 120 sub-sectors. It covers key areas of the Indian services sector like IT, ITES, business services, health, education and audio-visual services. Moreover, Indian students in Australia will be able to secure work visas for periods ranging from18 months to four years on a ‘reciprocal’s basis.
Pharmaceuticals sector: India and Australia have agreed to enable fast track approval for patented, generic and biosimilar medicines. Both sides have agreed to audits of imports that require sanitary and phytosanitary inspection as per the law of the land.
Dispute Settlement Mechanism: They aim at providing remedies and mechanisms for resolving trade disputes. This is the first trade deal signed by India that has a compulsory review mechanism after 15 years of implementation.
Rules of origin: Products should be “wholly obtained or produced in the territory of one or both of the parties”. This section ensures that waste material will not be exported by either side unless they contribute to the production of any of the items listed in the ECTA. It aims at creating anti-dumping measures.
Strategic Importance: ECTA will further boost India’s partnership with Australia along with Japan in trilateral Supply Chain Resilience Initiative (SCRI) and QUAD Grouping along with U.SA. and Japan. Both India and Australia share a vision of a free, open, inclusive and rules-based Indo-Pacific region.
The Comprehensive Strategic partnership along with ETCA will further cement the already deep, close and strategic relations between the two countries. It will significantly enhance bilateral trade in goods and services, create new employment opportunities, raise living standards, and improve the general welfare of the peoples of the two countries.
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