Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has praised an “historic” new trade deal with India as being good for producers of seafood, wine, and other produce and resources as the country inks a deal.
“This is great news for lobster fishers in Tasmania, wine producers in South Australia, macadamia farmers in Queensland, critical minerals miners in Western Australia,” Morrison said.
He said the agreement builds on the two countries’ security partnership and their joint efforts to maintain peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific, along with Quad partners America and Japan, in the face of Beijing’s aggression belligerence and ambitions to reshape the region.
The Australia-India trade deals comes after more than a decade of negotiations which began in 2011, and were paused in 2015 and resumed in 2021.
The deal will see more than 85 percent of tariffs removed on Australian goods exported to India, currently worth more than $12 billion a year.
At the same time, 96 percent of Indian goods coming into Australia will be duty-free.
“It is a significant win for our exporters,” Australian Trade Minister Dan Tehan told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation on April 2. “We get access to the largest, fastest growing economy in the world.
“By tying our two economies together, it does help provide an important ballast for the geo-strategic competition we are seeing in the Indo-Pacific.
“The more we can tie ourselves with India ... the better for our long-term future and the better for stability in the Indo-Pacific.”
The deal will be signed virtually on April 2 with Tehan’s Indian counterpart Piyush Goyal.
Two-way trade between the countries has grown in recent years to more than $24 billion in 2020.
Among the first tariffs to be eliminated will be tariffs on sheep meat and wool, while over the next seven years additional tariffs will gradually be removed including on products like avocados, onions, nuts, and fruits.
Tariffs on wine will also be be reduced, while the resources sector will see tariffs on products like coal and metallic ores eliminated on entry.
Tourism and education are also set to benefit, with both countries agreeing to recognise each other’s professional qualifications, licensing, and registration procedures.
Australia has also agreed to set aside 1,000 places for Indian working holiday visas, with the federal government having two years to implement the measure.
India will also assure the best treatment for Australia services suppliers across more than 30 sectors in relation to any other trade deal India enters into.
