It’s Australia and India’s Turn to Shine

As National Chair of Australia’s leading business chamber, responsible for the country’s trade relationship with India, I am eager to see early results from the historic trade agreement between India and Australia which came into effect just under two months ago on December 29 2022.

Our Chamber has been overwhelmed by the enthusiastic response from Indian business for early wins. Since the Australia India Economic Trade and Cooperation Agreement (AI ECTA) was signed in April, Australia has hosted eight Ministers from the Modi Government. In comparison, just three Ministers visited Australia in the five years previous. As well as Ministers, we have hosted many sector delegations - all keen to secure business and investment outcomes from the agreement.

The challenge for us as a Chamber, and more broadly as a nation, is to see that eagerness replicated on the Australian side. With the visit to India in March by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Indian Prime Minister Modi’s return visit later in 2023, we are confident more Australian companies will realize the enormous benefits available to them through the trade deal.

But it will take more than an exchange by two Prime Ministers to convince businesses of the opportunities with India now available to them.

Australia has always been an export-oriented nation, but our eyes have been largely on China. As the first Western country to enter into a free trade agreement with India, circumstances now demand we turn our attention to India.

Australia has “first mover advantage” - no other western nation has achieved what we have. But the UK and Canada are now knocking loudly on India’s door and expect to have similar agreements in place by year’s end.

The agreement presents opportunities for agricultural products with tariff reduction or elimination on around 90% of our current food and agricultural exports to India. Premium wine tariffs have been reduced by 50% and there are big wins for our seafood producers.

The opportunities are there - but we have to capture them. And this will take time and patience, as well as building a network of business and people to people links.

We are fortunate to have solid foundations - our history with India runs deep. 75 years ago, Australia became the first country to acknowledge India’s Independence. The countries now have a special bond, underpinned by shared interests, and a respect for democracy and the rule of law.

We also have a growing Indian diaspora - some 700,000 Australians have an Indian heritage and they are critical to Australia’s relationship with India. They are the ‘living bridge’ between the two countries.

Our role as a Chamber is to raise awareness and nurture the relationship through trade but we are also committed to directly achieving business outcomes. Our first piece of advice to anyone looking to do business in India is “find a trusted partner” - in many cases that person has connections already to our Indian diaspora. https://www.dfat.gov.au/trade/agreements/in-force/australia-india-ecta/using-ecta-do-business-india Runtorem. Et harum isquibusam re officiatern

As Australia’s leading India Australia business Chamber, we make a commitment to do our part to raise the profile of the ECTA and the opportunities in India for Australian companies and Indian companies here in Australia. It’s why I am keen for our Chamber to have a closer relationship with the Supply Chain & Logistics Association of Australia (SCLAA) - the movement of goods to and from Australia and across our expansive country are critical to bilateral trade success.

If Australia’s relationship with India continues to grow, there are wins for everyone in the supply chain and I have no doubt we will meet the ambitions of the Indian Trade Minister Piyush Goyal of growing two-way trade to $100 billion by 2030.