After the announcement of the passing of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with India by the Australian parliament, Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal on Tuesday said that the initial size of bilateral trade between India-Australia can go up to around USD 45-50 billion in the next 5-6 years.
While addressing the presser, Goyal said, “Initial size of bilateral trade between India-Australia Economic Cooperation Trade Agreement (Ind- Aus ECTA) can go up to around USD 45-50 billion in the next 5-6 years.”
During the conference, Goyal said this is the first time in “Australian history” that they’re giving duty-free import on 100 per cent of items. He further said that this is also the first Trade Agreement with a developed country after a decade.
Talking about the relationship shared between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Australian government, Goyal called it a “strong bond” and said that the FTA is a big recognition of India’s growing stature and capabilities that businesses provide to the world both in goods and services.
Current annual trade in goods and services between the two nations is $31 billion, according to the Indian government.