India-Australia Free Trade Agreement

With high levels of saturation, India is now looking to convert the interim deal into a comprehensive trade agreement that will include new-age trade issues left out in the first round

As his two-day visit to Australia concludes, Defence Minister invites Australian firms to co-develop and co-produce propulsion tech, underwater drones, and advanced materials

Australia expects to expand its trade pact with India soon; initial FTA was signed in April 2022, removing tariffs on most goods but excluding key farm products like wheat and dairy

The company is looking at this as a business opportunity, Mukherjee said. They (explorations) are in different stages of negotiations

It's been successful for both countries, not just for Australian exports to India but also for Indian exports to Australia, John Southwell said

Dissatisfaction with housing in Australia reached an all-time high last year and it is an issue that is expected to dominate a general election due by May

Both nations had signed the interim trade deal, also known as India-Australia ECTA that came into force on December 29, 2022

India's exports to its trade agreement partner Australia rose 64.4 per cent year-on-year to USD 643.7 million in November on account of healthy growth in sectors such as textiles, chemicals and agricultural products, according to the commerce ministry data. However, the country's merchandise exports recorded a decline of 5.21 per cent year-on-year to USD 5.56 billion during April-November 2024-25, the preliminary data showed. India and Australia implemented an interim trade pact -- Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA) -- on December 29, 2022 and are now in negotiations to widen the scope of the pact and make it a Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA). On the completion of two years of ECTA, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said the agreement has brought with it increased market access for Indian exporters, expanded opportunities for MSMEs and farmers, and generated several employment avenues. It has also enabled growth in exports by 14 per cent i

Senior officials of India and Australia have reviewed the progress of talks on the proposed free trade agreement between the two countries, the commerce ministry said on Monday. The two countries had implemented an interim trade pact in December 2022 and now they are negotiating to widen the scope of the pact for a Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA). "The three-day stocktake visit for the India-Australia CECA concluded in New Delhi on December 6," the ministry said. The stocktake discussions covered several critical areas of the agreement, including trade in goods, services, mobility, agri-tech cooperation, and more. "The discussions also centered on market access modalities that align with India's food security objectives," it said. Both parties evaluated the progress made so far and outlined a path forward for the early conclusion of the CECA. The Indian delegation was headed by Additional Secretary and Chief Negotiator, Department of Commerce, Rajesh Agrawal,

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India is looking at expediting the free trade agreement talks with Australia in the next two months to bridge differences on the sensitive issues and close the negotiations, a senior government official said on Wednesday. "Otherwise Australia goes for election next year, maybe the (talks for the) agreement will go beyond that depending on the work, we are able to do in these two months," Additional Secretary in the Department of Commerce Rajesh Agrawal told reporters here. The eleventh round of negotiations are expected to be held next month. The India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (AI-ECTA) came into effect from December 2022. Now both the sides are negotiating to widen the scope of ECTA through a comprehensive economic cooperation agreement (CECA). The utilisation of the trade agreement so far is more than 80 per cent, which means that businesses of both the countries are benefitting out of this, he said. "They have guided the officials to see in case the CE

The negotiations also focused on areas such as government procurement, rules of origin and agri-tech

Senior officials of India and Australia are expected to hold their next round of talks for a compressive free trade agreement in November here, the commerce ministry said on Sunday. The two countries implemented an interim trade agreement in December 2022 and are now under negotiations to expand its scope. It said that the tenth round of India-Australia CECA (comprehensive economic cooperation agreement) negotiations was held from 19-22 August in Sydney in the areas of goods, services, digital trade, government procurement, rules of origin and agri-tech. Intense discussions were held on each of these tracks bringing in clarity and understanding for convergence in the remaining provisions, it added. "The next round of CECA negotiations is likely to be held in November," it said in a statement. The Indian delegation was led by Rajesh Agrawal, the Chief Negotiator and Additional Secretary, Department of Commerce and the Australian delegation was led by Ravi Kewalram, the Chief Negoti

The three sides held discussions to explore opportunities for collaboration, including under the framework of the Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative (IPOI) and the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA)

India, Australia trade deal may include deeper market access and outcomes in digital trade & goods

Speaking at an event, Australian High Commissioner Philip Green on Monday said that Australia seeks to play a "bigger part" in India's journey to upskill its population

'India is a wonderful place to do business. Today, India is a far more business-friendly place than it was a decade ago...' he said

Government officials said that there has been an uptick in exports of products, where duty concessions have been given under the trade deal

Australia and New Zealand leaders agreed on Wednesday to seek closer defence ties as the latter considers sharing advanced military technologies with the United States and Britain through the so-called AUKUS partnership. New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon made Australia the destination of his first overseas visit since forming a coalition government following his election in October. Luxon said he and his Australian counterpart, Anthony Albanese, agreed at their meeting in Sydney the two countries' defence and foreign ministers would meet in early 2024 to ensure their plans were aligned and coordinated. We know we're facing a more challenging and complex world. Close security and defence relationships we have with our only ally, Australia, is very foundational for New Zealand, Luxon told reporters. New Zealand is committed to doing our share of the heavy lifting in the alliance and I'm determined that New Zealand will continue to be alongside Australia as we seek to advan