India, Australia trade pact to boost engineering goods exports

The Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA) signed between India and Australia on Saturday will give a boost to engineering goods exports from India, the industry body said.

"The India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement bodes well for the engineering goods sector. The deal would add to the growth momentum and help the exporters get deeper market access in Australia," said Mahesh Desai, Chairman, Engineering Export Promotion Council (EEPC) of India.

India's Union Minister for Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal and Australia's Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment Dan Tehan on Saturday signed the India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement, in a Virtual ceremony in presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Australian counterpart Scott Morrison.

India has signed a trade deal with Australia less than a week after inking a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement with the United Arab Emirates.

"The trade deals signed by India and those in the pipeline would together give a giant push to the engineering sector which has been one of the key sectors propelling exports from the country. Engineering being a labour-intensive sector, the rise in exports would mean creation of more and more jobs," said Desai.