Key Points

Speaking during a panel discussion at the CII Global Trade Scenario National Summit in Mumbai, Woodlee praised the ECTA, effective since December 2022, for enabling Indian businesses to access preferential tariffs on Australian exports like lithium and rare earths, vital for India's renewable energy and electric vehicle sectors.

She also highlighted India's trajectory as the world's fastest-growing economy, poised to become the third largest by 2030, and Australia's commitment to its growth.

"I was just reflecting on what we said earlier about the trajectory of India's economy. It is the world's fastest-growing economy. By 2030, it will be the world's third-largest economy. And for Australia, we believe in India's growth and we see the opportunities there," Woodlee said.

She emphasised Australia's economic roadmap, released earlier this year by Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, which identifies clean energy, education, agribusiness, and tourism as priority superhighways for the India-Australia economic corridor, with the ECTA as a key enabler.

"So much so that earlier this year, our Prime Minister released an economic roadmap which identifies four superhighways that will be priorities for the India-Australia economic corridor. Clean energy, education, agribusiness and tourism. And the FTA will support implementation of those priorities under the roadmap," she added.

Woodlee stressed that while the ECTA creates a framework for liberal trade, businesses must activate it.

"An FTA establishes an ecosystem for more liberal trade. But it's up to business to bring that ecosystem to life. Earlier I said that 86 per cent of Indian exports to Australia utilise ECTA. That's an indicator that the ecosystem established under ECTA has been brought to life or is being brought to life by Australian and Indian businesses," she noted.

With bilateral trade reaching USD 24 billion in 2023-24 and Indian exports growing by 14 per cent annually, the ECTA has eliminated tariffs on over 96 per cent of Indian goods, boosting sectors like textiles, pharmaceuticals, and engineering.

Urging Indian firms to view the ECTA within India's broader FTA network, including agreements with the UAE and UK, Woodlee envisioned integrated supply chains.

"India has a number of different FTAs. And if you can achieve 86 per cent utilisation under ECTA, surely that can also be done with other FTAs. Think about the opportunities that could come to India if we were to look not at these FTAs as individual agreements but as part of a web," she said.

She highlighted clean energy, noting, "Australia has lithium and rare earths exported to India under ECTA under preferential tariffs. Manufactured into batteries, solar panels, and EVs. Then exported around the world. Exported to the UAE, exported to the UK, exported to the EU. Using the FTAs, the bilateral FTAs that India has negotiated."

"I urge you, businesses, to bring to life the ecosystem established by your FTAs and get to know them," Woodlee concluded.

- ANI