India and Australia signed a historic trade and economic cooperation agreement on Saturday. India entered into a free trade agreement with the developed world almost ten years later. In this regard, exports are expected to double in the next five years. Under this agreement, Australia will provide tax-free access to 95% of Indian goods in its market, such as textiles, leather, jewelry, and sports goods.
Indian Minister of Trade and Industry Piyush Goyal and Australian Minister of Trade, Tourism, and Investment Dan Tehan signed the agreement in a formal ceremony. The agreement was signed in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Australian counterpart Scott Morrison. Prime Minister Modi said this was a milestone in India-Australia relations.
At the same time, Morrison said the agreement would also strengthen relations between India and Australia. Goyal said the agreement would help raise trade of $ 27 billion between the two countries to $ 45-50 billion over the next five years. Under the agreement, Australia will provide tax-free access to 96.4% (in terms of price) of goods exported to India.
It will pay for most of these products, currently carrying prices ranging from 4 to 5%. The industries related to textiles, clothing, other agricultural and fishing products, leather, footwear, furniture, sportswear, jewelry, machinery, electrical equipment, and train vehicles will benefit from this agreement. Australia is the seventeenth-largest partner in India. At the same time, India is Australia's ninth-largest partner. Trade-in goods and services between the two countries will reach $ 27.5 billion by 2021.