MELBOURNE, 20 April, 2023: Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) has asked stakeholders to submit or resubmit submissions on the possible opportunities and impacts of an Australia-India Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA), or Free Trade Agreement. “Individuals, organisations and groups that make submissions will be registered as stakeholders by the Department for further consultation and follow up as appropriate,” the DFAT says.
The renewed submissions plea comes as Australian and Indian negotiators meet in Sydney this week ” for the early conclusion of an ambitious Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement.” There are many issues that need resolution. For example, India is apprehensive of possible Australian agriculture and dairy products exports.
Australia wants more access for its agriculture products in the Indian market and India wants more access for its labour in the Australian market. Both of these are sensitive issues for Australia and India.
The Australia India Institute in its submission to DFAT in March 2022 had raised a vital issue. It said, ” There is a current lack of understanding in Australia of India, and importantly how business in India operates. In the workforce, literacy of Indian culture and preferences is limited. Low ‘India literacy’ among Australian state and federal governments, as well as Australian corporations, poses a challenge for business-to-business collaboration and foreign investment. Improving literacy of India’s business environment within corporate Australia would help support long term strategic investments in India and provide Australian businesses with the 14 AII: Enhancing The Australia-India Partnership necessary tools and knowledge to communicate with their Indian counterparts.”
It remains to be seen what progress is reached in the Sydney talks. Meanwhile, the news of about 95 % Indian international students applications in the non graduate and post graduate segment (vocational courses) being rejected for incomplete applications and fraudulent information and documents is a big issue. Australia’s Home Affairs Department is planning to clamp down on them further.
The Age reports five universities – Victoria University, Edith Cowan University, University of Wollongong, Torrens University and Southern Cross University, are placing bans to preempt greater restrictions by the Home Affairs Department. Reports indicate extra scrutiny is in place for applications from Punjab, Haryana and Gujarat.
Australia’s Education Sector is considered a ‘economic winner’. Universities Australia calculated that, together with $3.5bn international students enrolling on courses online from their home countries, international students added $29bn to the economy in 2022. The largest flow of international students being from China and India.
The CECA’s, long awaited interim free trade deal was signed virtually between the two countries 2 April 2022 between Australia’s Trade Minister, Dan Tehan, and Piyush Goyal, India’s Minister of Commerce & Industry, Consumer Affairs & Food & Public Distribution and Textiles, and later The Indian Minister visited Australia.
India’s Business Standard had reported tariffs will be eliminated on more than 85% of Australian goods exports to India, worth A$12.6 billion, rising to almost 91% over 10 years and under the agreement, 96 percent of Indian goods imports will enter Australia duty-free.
Basically, at present, Australia and India have an interim Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and a full scale agreement is yet to come. Enquiries in New Delhi recently indicated much more was needed to finalise a complete FTA between the two countries. Hence the DFAT’s urge for renewed submissions.
The DFAT adds: “We welcome renewed submissions from interested parties that provided submissions for earlier CECA negotiations or for the AI-ECTA, or that provided related submissions during the negotiations for a Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). We acknowledge circumstances may have changed in the time that has passed since earlier rounds and that stakeholders may wish to update or re-submit their earlier submissions.
Possible issues stakeholders may wish to address include:
- goods market access (tariffs and quotas)
- rule of origin (including associated procedures)
- non-tariff barriers to trade in goods (including technical barriers and customs issues)
- cross-border trade in services
- financial services
- investment, including investor-state dispute settlement
- government procurement
- intellectual property, including geographical indications
- barriers to trade in emerging and innovative industries e.g, biotechnology, artificial intelligence, IT incubators
- movement of persons
- competition policy
- sustainable development”
