Australia is on the verge of completing a free trade agreement with India with possible announcements in “upcoming days,” because the government works to make an agreement less than two months before the election may be.
The Australian Minister of Commerce and Tehan said that he and Indian partners, Piyush Goyal met every day and “very close” to reach an agreement. Tehan said he hoped there might be an announcement immediately.
“Both parties work in a hurry to make sure we can get an agreement in our national interests,” he said in Bloomberg television interviews.
The free trade agreement between India and Australia has been more than 10 years in manufacturing, with negotiations beginning in 2011 before being suspended four years later in 2015. Finally in 2020, in the midst of the bond of heating between Delhi and Canberra, Scott Morrises Prime Minister and Narendra Modi agreed to restart negotiations.
The two-way trade between India and Australia was worth $ 24.3 billion ($ 18.3 billion) in 2020, up from only $ 13.6 billion in 2007, according to the Australian government. Experts say one of the main competitiveness points is agriculture, with Australia wants access to the Indian market, but the Modi government is reluctant to place domestic farmers – large voting banks – risky.
The encouragement for an agreement came just a few weeks from the start of the national election campaign in Australia, with the Morrison’s central government encouraged a strong economic management narrative for struggling to redeem polls.
Tehan is currently visiting the US to meet with the Trade Secretary Gina Raimondo for the initial strategic economic dialogue between the two countries, where they are expected to discuss China’s efforts to trade in trade on Australia and the need to strengthen the supply chain for the earth rarely.
“The traditional regulatory book is being thrown out of the window because we see several countries using their economic weight and their economic strength, using economic coercion, using non-market practices, to try and influence global trade,” he said.
Speaking of Russian invasion to Ukraine, Tehan said he hoped Australia announced further sanctions against Moscow soon.