The Interim Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between India and Australia will come into effect from Thursday i.e. today. After this, there will be no duty on exports of more than six thousand products of India to Australia. The agreement was signed on April 2, 2022

This will provide duty free access to the Australian market for thousands of household items such as textiles, leather etc. According to exporters and industry veterans, the agreement will help double bilateral trade to US$ 45-50 billion in about five years.  

The Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA) will provide duty-free access to the Australian market to Indian exporters from over 6,000 sectors including textiles, leather, furniture, jewelery and machinery. The ECTA was signed on 2 April. This will bring huge benefits to labour-intensive sectors, including textiles and apparel, agricultural and fishery products, leather, footwear, furniture, sporting goods, jewellery, machinery and electrical goods. 

Khalid Khan, vice-president of the Federation of Indian Export Organizations (FIEO), said Australia is one of the major markets for Indian exporters. He said, this agreement will provide immense opportunities for us from the day of its implementation i.e. 29th December. 

Federation of Indian Export Organizations (FIEO) Vice President Khalid Khan said, this agreement will provide immense opportunities for us from day one of its implementation. Under the FTA, Australia is offering zero-duty access to about 96.4 per cent of exports by value from day one. This includes many products on which Australia currently imposes customs duty of up to five per cent.