India-Australia FTA still under process

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SME Times News Bureau | 31 Aug, 2017
Discussions on a free trade agreement between India and Australia, which had featured during talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his visiting Australian counterpart Malcolm Turnbull in April this year, are on and a deal would be a win-win for both sides, Australia's Trade Minister said on Wednesday.

Speaking at a media round table here, Trade, Tourism and Investment Minister Steven Ciobo, referring to the bilateral Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA), said: "Negotiations continue."

Ciobo, who met Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman earlier in the day, said "Part of today's conversation was in trying to deliver upon the aspiration that our two leaders had with respect to an FTA between Australia and India."

Describing his meeting with Sitharaman as "constructive", he expressed confidence that a "good quality deal" will come out of the parleys.

Ciobo is leading a delegation of 170 Australian businesses for the Australian Business Week India (ABWI) being held from August 28-September 1 across New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bhopal, Bengaluru and Hyderabad.

Negotiations for the India-Australia CECA began in May 2011 but got stalled after the ninth round in September 2015.

However, during Prime Minister Turnbull's visit to India earlier this year, it was announced that discussions for the agreement would resume.

India is Australia's 10th largest trading partner, with two-way trade valued at A$21 ($16.6) billion and two-way investment valued at A$24 ($19) billion in 2015-16. India is Australia's sixth largest export market, comprising nearly A$15 ($11.9) billion in goods and services.

Stating that the international trade space was "very full", Ciobo said that both Australia and India were working together on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) "and, of course, we are very committed to stronger trade and investment ties between Australia and India".

RCEP is a proposed free trade agreement covering 16 countries in the Asia-Pacific region - China, India, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, and the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean).

Asked if India and Australia were waiting for the RCEP to be concluded before signing the CECA, the visiting Australian Minister replied in the negative.

Stating that trade negotiations are always challenging, Ciobo said that both he and Sitharaman were sharing their respective national interests.

"We recognise that there is mutual benefit for both India and Australia from constructive engagement around a high quality deal," he said. "And we will continue to pursue that outcome."

He said that trade deals are not zero sum games and that "good trade deals genuinely produce win-win outcomes".

"So a good quality deal is a deal that helps facilitate trade and helps to support mutual investments in each other's economies," Ciobo said.

"A good quality deal is a deal that builds on the strengths of our economic relationship that incorporates the complementarities that exist between Australia and India."

Talking about the ongoing business week, Ciobo said that his delegation members would work with Indian businesses and make sure that there is an alignment between the various streams that they were participating in and the domestic priorities of the Indian government.

In this connection, he mentioned smart cities, agribusiness, higher education, innovation and health.

"These streams represent areas where we know Australia has expertise and we really believe that there are strong complementarities between what Australia can do and what India is doing," Ciobo said.