India-Australia Trade Agreement: What The Two Countries Have Offered

India will remove tariffs on certain edible meats, while Australia will issue a new category of student visas as part of the new trade agreement between the two countries, according to according to two government officials.

The India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement signed earlier this month also includes provisions for bilateral trade in wine, whiskey, organic goods, and the pharma sector, the two officials said on the condition of anonymity as details are not public yet.

The pact was signed by Union Minister of Commerce Piyush Goyal and the Australian Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment Dan Tehan on April 2.

The trade documents are yet to be made public. BloombergQuint has reviewed a copy.

The two countries aim to double annual trade volumes that currently stand at $27 billion.

After the agreement comes into force, both the countries will benefit on tariff lines or the collection of rates for different commodities. India will benefit from preferential market access by Australia on 100% of tariff lines or each band of tariff rate irrespective of the commodity, while India will be offering preferential market access to Australia on over 70% of tariff lines, according to a statement by the Ministry of Commerce.

For services, Australia has offered wide-ranging commitments in around 135 sub-sectors and Most Favoured Nation status in 120 sub-sectors, as per the statement.

An emailed query to the Ministry of Commerce remained unanswered.

Here’s a list of key provisions:

Meat

As part of the agreement, India will be removing tariffs on fresh, chilled and frozen edible meat of bovine animals, swine, sheep and horses with immediate effect, the first official quoted above said.

Visas

Both the countries have agreed to provide visas to former science, technology, engineering or mathematics or STEM students, including Indian Information and Communications Technology or ICT professionals to live, study and work temporarily after finishing their studies, said the first government official quoted earlier.

• Visa up to 18 months will be provided to students upon completion of diploma or trade qualifications.

• Upon completion of a Bachelor’s degree, visa for up to two years will be provided.

• After completing a Master’s degree, visa for up to three years will be provided.

• After completing a doctoral degree, visa for up to four years will be provided.

Australia has also agreed to provide a 12-month “work and holiday” visa to Indians within two years of the agreement coming into force.

According to the documents reviewed, visa holders can make their first entry into Australia within 12 months of being granted a visa, remain in the country for up to 12 months from the date of first entry, leave and re-enter as many times as they want during the stay period, and take up paid or unpaid employment for the entire duration of their stay.

Wine

According to the trade documents, India and Australia will hold technical consultations on the trade and production of wine, collaborate on projects, share best practices on policies and procedures, as well as exchange information and technical assistance.

Once the agreement comes into force, a joint dialogue on wine will be established with government and industry representatives from both countries, the first official said. According to him, as of now, the plan is to meet annually.

Whiskey

Within six months of the agreement coming into force, a working group will be set up for matters pertaining to market access of whiskey, including its maturation rules, the first person quoted above said.

Organic Production And Certification

Both the countries will exchange information on matters pertaining to organic production, certification of organic products and related control systems.

The document includes provision of a 12-month period, from the date of signing of the agreement, for concluding negotiations on a mutual recognition assessment for organic products.

Pharma

The agreement says that India's Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation and Australia's Therapeutic Goods Administration will work together to facilitate trade in human prescription medicines, including generic prescription and biosimilar medicines, and medical devices.

India and Australia have agreed to utilise inspection reports by their respective regulatory authorities for quality assessment of manufacturing facilities, thereby reducing the time required for in-country inspections.