Home
|
Sitemap
|
FAQs
|
Contact Us
Product
Country
Menu
About Agri Exchange
Introduction
Apeda Agri Exchange
The Vision
Benefits / Facilities
To Exporters
To Buyers
Product Profile
Floriculture
Floriculture
Fruits & Vegetables Seeds
Fresh fruits & Vegetables
Fresh Onion
Other Fresh Vegetables
Walnuts
Fresh Mangoes
Fresh Grapes
Other Fresh Fruits
Others (Betel Leaves & Nuts)
Processed Fruits & Vegetables
Cucumber and Gherkins (Prepd. & Presvd.)
Processed Vegetables
Mango Pulp
Processed Fruits,Juices & Nuts
Pulses
Animal Products
Buffalo Meat
Sheep/ Goat Meat
Other Meat
Processed Meat
Animal Casing
Poultry Products
Dairy Products
Natural Honey
Caseins
Albumin (Eggs & Milk)
Other Processed Foods
Groundnuts
Guar Gum
Jaggery & confectionery
Cocoa Products
Cereal Preparation
Milled Products
Alcoholic Beverages
Miscellaneous Preperations
Cereals
Basmati Rice
Non Basmati Rice
Wheat
Maize
Other Cereals
Country Profile
United Arab Emirates
Saudi Arabia
Malaysia
Bangladesh
United States
Vietnam
Kuwait
Iran
United Kingdom
Indonesia
...View more country profiles
FTA's
Analytical Report on FTAs
Tariff Concession under FTAs
Statistics
International Trade
India's Export
India's Import
Production
International Production
India Production
Market Intelligence
e-Bulletin
Global Analytical Report
India's Export Analytical Report
Comparative Report On APEDA Products
Comparative Report On Principal Commodities
Import Tariffs
Import Regulations
SPS Notifications
DGFT : Public Notice, Notifications, Circular and Trade Notice
India Food Safety & Standards
Market Reports
Foreign Trade Policy 2023
Chapter 01 - Legal Framework and Trade Facilitation
Chapter 02 - General Provisions Regarding Imports and Exports
Chapter 03 - Developing Districts as Export Hubs
Chapter 04 - Duty Exemption Remission Schemes
Chapter 05 - Export Promotion Capital Goods (EPCG) Scheme
Chapter 06 - Export Oriented Units (EOUs), Electronics Hardware Technology Parks (EHTPs), Software Technology Parks (STPs) and Bio-Technology Parks (BTPs)
Chapter 07 - Deemed Exports
Chapter 08 - Quality Complaints and Trade Disputes
Chapter 09 - Promoting Cross Border Trade in Digital Economy
Chapter 10 - Scomet: Special Chemicals, Organisms, Materials, Equipment and Technologies
Chapter 11 - Definitions
Newsletters
Latest News
Latest Newsletter
Archives
Directory
Exporters
Service Providers
Logistics
Trade Leads
Submit New lead
Buy Leads
Sell Leads
Indian Mission Login
Market News
India-Australia relations: Preparing for CECA.
Jan 25, 2024
The depth and intensity in bilateral relations doesn’t just happen. It takes time, sustained effort by multiple stakeholders, and more importantly, strong political will for it to become strategically significant. Situations, circumstances, events, and prevailing perceptions, including misperceptions, act as strong influencers either in strengthening it or holding it back from attaining its true potential.
A rapidly changing global environment, certainly, can impose a strategic necessity in reinventing bilateral, regional, and global relationships. At the same time, the evolving nature of foreign policy itself constantly reassesses relationships to maximize national interest. In other words, the forging and enhancement of relationships is not solely driven by externally imposed compulsions. Countries discover each other because relationships also have their own bilateral rationale.
It is in this context that the dramatic transformation of India-Australia relations, in less than a decade, from persistent suspicions and distrust, occasional animosity, and polite disinterest to one driven by strategic necessity, mutual benefit, and proactive bipartisan political will needs to be seen.
Australian Parliamentarian Andrew Charlton, in his recently published book titled Australia’s Pivot to India, characterizes the relationship as one that did not happen overnight but incrementally moved through four distinct phases – acquaintances, friends, family, partners – before it arrived at the current state of play. From what was a tepid, almost moribund, engagement, it has leapfrogged to emerge as one of the most exciting and fastest growing relationships in the Indo-Pacific, spanning multiple and diverse verticals from defence to education to critical technologies to the social sector to trade, to name a few.
The willingness of both countries to enter into a comprehensive relationship is by itself spectacular, given how mundane the relationship earlier was. But willingness alone does not move mountains. Years of neglect and entrenched misperceptions leave behind their own baggage. This is particularly evident when we consider sectors outside of government.
Consider trade, for instance. The Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA) was signed in April 2022 and entered into force in December of that year. A strong showing in two-way trade that year ($48.4 billion) was particularly heartening and suggested appetite for sustained growth from both sides.
However, a literacy gap continues to plague business communities in both countries. Indian business has little knowledge of the Australian market, negligible contacts to enter into business tie-ups with their counterparts, which is holding them back from exploring how they might expand the product basket. Indeed, several of India’s regional business chambers do not even have a dedicated Australia chapter to provide information to their members and facilitate business delegations.
This is problematic as it does not allow for a fuller appreciation of consumer demand in Australia, nor indeed of Australian requirements of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Standards. For India’s SME exporters, the target clientele appears to be restricted to the growing Indian diaspora in Australia. This will continue to restrain the volume of India’s exports to Australia.
Australian business is similarly handicapped because of their lack of familiarity on how they might do business with India and whether the process is as seamless as doing business with China, where they have been engaged in for several decades, including knowing the language and local customs. It bears mentioning that China is Australia’s largest trading partner and the two-way trade stood at over $271 billion in 2020.
It was mistakenly argued in some Australian quarters a few years ago that trade relations with India would replace those with China! At that time credible fears about Beijing’s behaviour, including interference in Australia’s domestic affairs, had resulted in frostiness in their bilateral relationship. The perception that India could ‘substitute’ China in trade relations was misplaced and exaggerated for multiple obvious reasons. The present government in Canberra has taken a more pragmatic approach. Fears with regard to Beijing persist and has resulted in greater vigilance. At the same time, the government has realized the advantage of expanding its trading partners and efforts to improved India-Australia trade, while not sacrificing existing Australia-China trade, would be the driving imperative.
The next step is for India and Australia to sign a Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA). ECTA has established the high level of complementarity and alignment between the two countries. For coal-starved India, continued import of coal for its energy demands would be critical for its developmental aspirations. At the same time, India has a proven track record of its investment in renewables. Collaboration with universities carrying out high-end research in photovoltaics and other areas would help address the deficit in areas of critical interest to India. India’s focus would also be on trade in critical minerals keeping in mind its long-term requirements.
Given strong political will on both sides for an early conclusion of CECA negotiations, preparations for the entry of CECA would include taking fuller advantage of ECTA and boosting two-way trade to $100 billion over the next couple of years, if not earlier. This is a credible possibility if industry in both countries were to expand the trade basket, reach out to new consumers, which would only be possible through a better understanding of consumer demand and market potential. Overall, there will be two key signposts which can point in this direction in the coming months:
Focused trade reviews by respective Missions and Consulates on ECTA implementation, more discussions with local representatives of Indian and Australian companies on their priorities for CECA, and steps by Missions to further facilitate bilateral commercial relations.
The efforts towards greater involvement of non-government stakeholders such as civil society and educational institutions to complement governmental efforts to further promote uptake of the ECTA and foster a positive narrative for the proposed CECA.
These factors will be instrumental in ensuring that the initial gains from the ECTA translate into greater ambition on both sides in terms of what a CECA can deliver for their economies.
economictimes.indiatimes.com
Archive