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‘ECTA should enhance trade, business between Australia and TN’.
Feb 06, 2023

In general, Australia is an exporter of resources and commodities. The Free Trade Agreement (FTA) assists in a cycle. You can imagine Australian cotton coming to Tamil Nadu, being knitted in Coimbatore and surrounding regions and those manufactured garments going back to Australia. The other place it is happening is in the mining industry. There are a number of Tamil Nadu manufacturers supplying parts to the Australian mining industry such as enormous wheels that go on the big mining trucks and pumps. Our mining industry uses them to extract coal and other resources and they come back to Tamil Nadu to provide affordable electricity and inputs. So, it is a very nice circular economic relationship between Australia and Tamil Nadu. There are a lot of examples, where Australia-based companies looking to manufacture for the Indian market will do it in Tamil Nadu using Australian engineering and design.

How does the ECTA mutually benefit Australia and Tamil Nadu?

It should enhance the already close ties between Australia and Tamil Nadu. For instance, the government of Western Australia last year opened an office in Tamil Nadu given the potential they see. Victoria, which is the southeastern state of Australia, has a very strong education sector and there could be many more education exchanges. South Australia, a big agriculture producer including of high-end wine, is also excited about the opportunities in Tamil Nadu. Each of these states will have their own angle that they are pursuing. So, ECTA is a strategic signal that should see everything become closer, deeper, building on a strong base.

Is there a scope for Australia to raise its exports to India of finished goods under the new trade agreement?

I think there should be some increase in the export of high-end manufactured goods. Australia does not have a large manufacturing sector. We are a resources and service economy. So, I would expect to see some increase. But where we think the big benefits will come for Australia is in high-end food and beverages products such as Australian lamb meat and lobsters. We do hope the market for Australian wine will continue to grow as well.

Tamil Nadu is the Detroit of India. Will the state play a major role in the electric vehicle sector in Australia?

We are very interested in the concept. We know that Ola is looking at investment opportunities in Australia. We do not manufacture cars in Australia. So, we have to buy vehicles from other countries.

ECTA makes an arrangement for work and holiday visas for young professionals. How will this help?

Improved mobility for people between Australia and India. We deeply value the contributions of the Indian diaspora in Australia. We want to see more skilled people from India travelling to Australia for working and investing. These mobility components of the ECTA should facilitate that. There are large Diwali festivals in most Australian towns now and Pongal is celebrated there. So, the more Australians come to know India, the more keen they are to know even more.

How much will exports increase between Australia and Tamil Nadu by 2030 under the ECTA?

The overall two-way trade should double.

Any updates on the ongoing discussion on ECTA?

ECTA we consider as the first innings. We are continuing to work with India for the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA), which would take up some concepts that Australia has in some of our other FTAs like government procurement, investments and digital economy. These are some of the newer disciplines in FTAs and we are exploring with India. CECA would be sort of a second innings.

timesofindia.indiatimes.com

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