First consignment under Indo-Australia ECTA flagged off

Mumbai

The first consignment under the India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA) was flagged off on Thursday from Mumbai by Union Minister for Commerce & Industry Piyush Goyal, marking a new beginning in trade between India and Australia. 

The consignments of gem and jewellery were simultaneously dispatched from Mumbai, Surat and Chennai, the Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) said. 

 “There is a lot of potential for exporting finished products to Australia as they’re largely a raw material and intermediate producing country. So, it’s a complete win-win,” said. Mr Goyal.

“Many of the products being manufactured in India, are providing huge amount of work and job opportunities for businesses both in merchandise and in services,” he added. 

Vipul Shah, Chairman, GJEPC said, “The India-Australia ECTA will boost the bilateral gem and jewellery trade to double from the present value of $1.27 billion to $2.5 billion over the next three years.”

“Zero percent duty on jewellery products made up of gold, silver and imitation Jewellery exported to Australia will provide a fillip to these products. An additional trade of $1 billion is likely to generate employment for 88,000 workers in India,” he said.

“While the gem and jewellery products have got free access to Australia, the government has protected the domestic industry by not decreasing import duty on gold/silver/platinum jewellery,” he added.