CECA talks: India collecting industry feedback on non-tariff barriers in Australia

With Australia eager to expedite negotiations on the proposed full-fledged Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) with India soon after the country’s general elections are over, the Commerce Department, is collecting inputs from the Indian industry on non-tariff barriers faced in the Australian market across sectors to make a case for their removal, sources have said.

• Also read:Australia-India ECTA working well for both countries, says Australian official

This is to ensure that Australia’s commitment to eliminate tariffs on all goods exported by India by January 1 2026, made under the early harvest deal ‘Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement’, resulting in adequate market access for Indian products.

“Australia promised to eliminate tariffs on 100 per cent of its imports from India in the first four years of implementation of the India-Australia ECTA. However, if NTBs are not addressed fully, Indian exporters will not be able to fully take advantage of tariff elimination. The Commerce Department has thus sought industry feedback from various sectors on NTBs related to exports to Australia, so that a case could be made for their removal in the proposed CECA,”  an official told businessline.

India and Australia implemented the bilateral ECTA on December 20 2022, under which Australia agreed to eliminate tariffs on 96 per cent of goods imported from India immediately, increasing it to 100 per cent by January 1 2026. India agreed to eliminate tariffs on over 85 per cent of Australian goods, which would rise to 90 per cent by January 1 2026.

India is hopeful that bilateral trade, valued at around $24 billion in 2023-24, would increase to $100 billion over the next few years, once the trade pacts are fully implemented.

“Indian goods exported to Australia in some sectors have started benefitting from the duty elimination that has already been brought about. However, NTBs, especially those related to sanitary & phytosanitary standards and technical barriers, continue to be impediments to exports in a number of areas, including in agriculture,” the official added.

Industry bodies are expected to submit their inputs on NTBs to the government soon, so that arguments for their removal can be weaved into the negotiations for the full-fledged CECA.

The India-Australia CECA is set to be much deeper than the existing ECTA, as, it may not only include some of the goods that were excluded in the ECTA, but also cover services, digital trade, government procurement and Rules of Origin (ROO)-Product Specific Rules Schedule.

Commerce Secretary, Sunil Barthwal, participated in the first Joint Committee Meeting (JCM) under India-Australia ECTA in Australia last week where the two sides discussed some implementation issues including mutual recognition agreements (MRAs) on organic products. Market access issues related to products like okra, pomegranate, grapes, cottage cheese, macadamia nuts, lentils  and avocado as well as TRQ (tariff rate quota) administration were also taken up.

Pharmaceutical pricing control in Australia, particularly on generics, is another issue India wants to be addressed for greater market access for Indian products. 

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“India’s general elections will be over next month. Negotiations on the India-Australia CECA are expected to be expedited as soon as the new government is in place,” the source said.