Economic Co-operation and Trade Agreement (ECTA)

Economic Co-operation and Trade Agreement (ECTA)

Part of: Prelims and GS II – International Relations

Context: India and Australia signed an Economic Co-operation and Trade Agreement (ECTA) recently.

• Both countries have aimed to double bilateral trade to $50 billion in five years and ease movement of people, goods and services across borders.
• This is also the first such pact signed by India with a developed country in a decade.

Key takeaways 

• The deal will facilitate work visas for two to four years for Indian students in Australia on a ‘reciprocal basis’.
• It will allow Indian chefs and yoga professionals to work there as well.
• The agreement will facilitate zero duty access on over 96% of Indian exports, including several labour-intensive industries.
• India will, in turn, offer preferential access to Australia on over 70% of its tariff lines on goods imports, including ‘lines of export interest to Australia which are primarily raw materials and intermediaries such as coal, mineral ores and wines, etc.
• The agreement with Australia is expected to create 10 lakh additional jobs in the country over the next five years.
• It will also increase the resilience of supply chains, and also contribute to the stability of the Indo-Pacific region.

News Source: TH