India, Australia to sign interim trade pact today; thousands of Indian exports to get duty free access
The Hindu
The pact will come into force at a mutually agreed date once it gets approval from the Union Cabinet in India and the Parliament in Australia
Indian exporters from over 6,000 broad sectors, including textiles, leather, furniture, jewellery and machinery, will get duty free access in the Australian market immediately after the interim trade agreement between the two countries comes into force, according to government sources.
Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and his Australian counterpart Dan Tehan will sign the India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement in a virtual ceremony, in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Prime Minister of Australia Scott Morrison on Saturday.
The agreement "encompassing trade in goods and services, is a balanced and equitable" pact and it will further cement the already close and strategic relations between the countries, the Commerce Ministry said in a statement on Friday.
It will significantly enhance the bilateral trade in goods and services, create new employment opportunities, raise living standards and improve the general welfare of the peoples of the two countries, it added.
The pact will come into force at a mutually agreed date once it gets approval from the Union Cabinet in India and the Parliament in Australia.
The sources said that on the very first day of the implementation of the interim pact, over 6,000 tariff lines would be available for Indian exporters at zero duty.
Australia is offering zero duty access to India on about 96.4% value of exports from day one and this covers many products, which currently attracts 4-5% customs duty in Australia, the sources said.
The Association of University Teachers (AUT) staged a protest in front of the Regional Joint Director, Directorate of College Education, highlighting the non-payment of salary for the last seven months to several teachers and employees in 10 colleges that were once constituent colleges to the Bharathidasan University and were converted into government colleges in 2019