The Commerce Department is holding industry outreach programmes across the country to spell out opportunities opened by the India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement which was implemented on December 29, 2022, official sources have said.

Reflecting the anticipation of the industry on both sides towards the ECTA benefits that have started being unrolled from December-end, both exports to and imports from Australia dipped in December 2022 as some businesses delayed their consignments to take advantage of the preferential duty structure, a source tracking the development told businessline.

“An extensive outreach programme has been initiated with various sectors in collaboration with various export promotion councils. A number of  seminars have been organised in Surat, Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Kochi. More programmes are also scheduled in places such as Chandigarh and Kolkata,” the official said.

Australia has agreed to provide zero-duty market access for 96.4 per cent value of Indian exports on the first day of implementation of the interim ECTA, increasing it to 100 per cent in four years. India will immediately eliminate duties on 85 per cent on items and high tariffs on a further 5 per cent of goods will be phased down over the next six years.

“The India-Australia ECTA holds immense opportunities for India as import duties on over 96 per cent items have already been eliminated by Australia and all items will be zero-duty in the next four years. It is important that exporters are made aware of the scope of the pact and also know the procedures so that they can make use of it. The awareness programme is aimed at that,” the official said.

The Commerce Department is also facilitating interactions between the Indian industry and their Australian counterparts to assist them in jointly making use of ECTA, the official added.

“We are hopeful that the effects of the ambitious ECTA will start showing from January 2023 itself and subsequently bilateral trade will grow at an encouraging pace. Officials are keenly tracking the movement of both imports and exports to understand the impact of the agreement how it can be enhanced,” the official said.

Bilateral trade in January 2023 is also expected to spike as industry from both sides deferred shipping their consignments in December 2022 to take advantage of the preferential duty structure roll-out in December-end when the pact got implemented.

India’s goods exports to Australia will reach $15 billion by 2025 from $6.9 billion in 2021 taking full advantage of ECTA, while services should move to $10 billion by 2025 from $3.9 billion, according to estimates made by exporters’ body FIEO.

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