Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], September 18 (ANI): The India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA) has achieved an 86 percent utilisation rate for Indian exports, creating a robust trade ecosystem and positioning India to tap Australia’s resources for global supply chain leadership, said Zoe Woodlee, First Secretary Economic Counsellor and Acting Deputy Consul General at the Australian Consulate-General in Mumbai.
Speaking at a panel discussion during the CII Global Trade Scenario National Summit in Mumbai, Woodlee praised the ECTA — in effect since December 2022 — for enabling Indian businesses to access preferential tariffs on key Australian exports such as lithium and rare earths, which are critical for India’s renewable energy and electric vehicle sectors.
Reflecting on India’s economic trajectory, she said, “India is the world’s fastest-growing economy. By 2030, it will be the third largest. For Australia, we believe in India’s growth and see tremendous opportunities there.”
Woodlee highlighted Australia’s economic roadmap, released earlier this year by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, identifying clean energy, education, agribusiness, and tourism as priority “superhighways” for the India-Australia economic corridor, with the ECTA acting as a cornerstone.
“So much so that earlier this year, our Prime Minister released an economic roadmap identifying four superhighways for the India-Australia economic corridor — clean energy, education, agribusiness, and tourism. The FTA supports the implementation of those priorities,” she said.
While noting that the ECTA sets the framework for liberalised trade, she stressed that businesses must actively leverage it. “An FTA establishes an ecosystem for more liberal trade, but it’s up to business to bring it to life. Earlier, I mentioned that 86 percent of Indian exports to Australia utilise the ECTA. That indicates the ecosystem is thriving, driven by both Australian and Indian businesses,” she added.
With bilateral trade touching USD 24 billion in 2023–24 and Indian exports growing by 14 percent annually, the ECTA has eliminated tariffs on over 96 percent of Indian goods, benefitting sectors such as textiles, pharmaceuticals, and engineering.
Urging Indian companies to view the ECTA within India’s wider network of free trade agreements — including pacts with the UAE and the UK — Woodlee emphasised the potential for integrated supply chains. “If you can achieve 86 percent utilisation under ECTA, surely that can also be done with other FTAs. Think about the opportunities if these agreements were seen as part of a web, rather than in isolation,” she said.
She cited clean energy as an example: “Australia exports lithium and rare earths to India under ECTA with preferential tariffs. These are then manufactured into batteries, solar panels, and EVs, and exported globally — to the UAE, the UK, the EU — leveraging India’s other FTAs.”
“I urge businesses to bring to life the ecosystem established by your FTAs and truly get to know them,” Woodlee concluded. (ANI)
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