NEW DELHI: As free trade agreement (FTA) between India and Australia comes into effect from Thursday,Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said he expects two more free trade agreements to be signed up in 2023.
Speaking at the event to mark the operationalisation of India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement signed in April, Goyal said negotiations are scheduled with the UK, EU and Canada, adding that his ministry doesn’t have the bandwidth to tend to requests by smaller trading partners like New Zealand with which the bilateral trade stands at $350 million.
“India today works from a position of strength, we negotiate with confidence,” Goyal said, adding that the country will sign at least two such FTAs. He said January itself is filled with meetings between Indian commerce ministry officials and their counterparts abroad.
After handing over certificates of origin to the first among the Indian goods being sent to Australia after the pact, Goyal said the FTA will benefit a slew of sectors, including textiles, gems and jewellery and also information technology, which gets aided by the dropping of double taxation.
Goyal said he expects Indian IT companies’ billing to Australia alone will grow to $1 billion in next 5-7 years from $200 million at present. The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), which India walked out of in 2019, would have become a FTA with China in effect, Goyal said.