Growth through trade

The ratification by the Australian Parliament of the Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA) with India and the prospect of the deal becoming operational by January 1 next year mark a great leap forward in the long-delayed process of signing free-trade agreements (FTAs) by New Delhi. Progress on the ECTA follows the conclusion of a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) with the United Arab Emirates, India’s third-largest trade partner, and the deal came into effect earlier this year. Both deals, the first ones to be signed after the FTA with Japan way back in 2011, are significant because they represent a key shift in New Delhi’s approach. Now negotiations to sign FTAs with the European Union (EU), after a gap