Australian exporters benefit and grow in India thanks to FTA

In the first six months of the Australia-India Free Trade Agreement (FTA), Australian businesses have benefited from lower tariffs on exports worth more than AUD 12 billion, according to a press release from the Office of the Australian Minister for Trade and Tourism.

Unloading goods at Botany Port in Sydney, Australia. (Illustration photo, Source: AFP)

The trade agreement eliminates tariffs on more than 85 per cent of Australian exports to India, opening up opportunities for businesses to grow and diversify in sectors including agriculture and food, resources and energy, health and higher education.

Australian wine and premium produce producers are taking advantage of tariff cuts and looking to serve India’s growing market of 1.4 billion consumers. The trade benefits of the deal have encouraged new exporters to look to India, with the first shipments of Australian salmon, fresh lobster and avocados to the Indian market.

Existing exporters are also growing and diversifying their product offerings. As a result, Australian lamb, spices, fruits and nuts are increasingly appearing in Indian restaurants, hotels and high-end retailers. Premium Australian wine exporters such as Taylors, Metala and Torbreck Wines are also taking advantage of major tariff cuts to secure a foothold in India’s emerging wine market.

The growing trade relationship between Australia and India is also opening up opportunities for cooperation in the transition to net zero emissions in the region, the statement said.

Australian resources companies such as Western Australia's Iluka Resources are taking advantage of tax breaks to meet growing demand for critical minerals such as zircon, mineral sands and more, which could help India meet its carbon emissions reduction targets.

Lower tariffs on some medical product exports mean Australian innovations, such as Cochlear’s hearing implants, are more accessible than ever to the Indian market.

One-fifth of the world's working-age population will come from India by 2025. Australian education providers are looking for opportunities to train skills for the growing population in the Asian country.

As the trade agreement comes into effect, Indian institutions are looking for new ways to engage with Australia through the recognition of Australian qualifications, as well as blended, online and joint university degrees and programs.

During his visit to India in March 2023, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced that Australia's Deakin University will establish a branch in the Indian state of Gujarat, paving the way for new growth opportunities for Australian education providers.

Australia's University of Melbourne has also announced the expansion of its Bachelor of Science dual degree program with the University of Madras, Gandhi Institute of Technology and Management and Savitribai Phule Pune University in India.

The statement said that Australia-India relations are developing well and will go further in the future.

Prime Minister Albanese and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi shared plans to develop the trade relationship through the next bilateral FTA - the ambitious Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, which will further strengthen the economic partnership between the two countries and open up new avenues of cooperation. Negotiations are being expeditiously progressed to move the two countries towards signing the next free trade agreement.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/cac-doanh-nghiep-xuat-khau-australia-huong-loi-va-phat-trien-o-an-do-nho-fta-233046.html