&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "'We don't support tariffs on India': Australia Trade Minister Don Farrell")
With Donald Trump's tariff coming into effect on India, Australian Trade Minister Don Farrell has come out in support of Delhi, emphasising his country's commitment to 'free and fair trade'. Speaking on Thursday, he said, 'We are a country that believes in free and fair trade. We believe that the best way of ensuring prosperity is to continue free, fair and open trade. We don’t support imposition of tariffs, whether on Australia or India....” He emphasised, “Protectionism is not the way. It is free and fair trade.”
The US Tariff of 50% on India came into effect this week, as Delhi-Washington ties hit rock bottom, last seen in 1998 after India's nuclear tests.
Farrell’s remarks come at a time when Australia and India are working to conclude the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) pact. Last week, Australia sent its top negotiator to New Delhi for a full week of productive discussions. “We had a full week of negotiations last week. We sent our top negotiator to New Delhi. We had a productive week of discussions, I had 2 Zoom calls with Mr Piyush Goyal,” Farrell noted.
His optimism about the negotiations was palpable. Expressing his 'confidence' that 'goodwill between ourselves and India, plus, current international circumstances where those countries who believe in free and fair trade' will lead to further 'extension of our agreement'. India-Australia already have an Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA), which was signed in April 2022. It serves as an interim free trade agreement (FTA) to boost economic cooperation, eliminate tariffs on a wide range of goods, and open up services markets. “We can do more. My objective is to increase trade and build strong community relationships. That is certainly the message to Minister Goyal", Australia Trade Minister said.
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Beyond trade, Australia is keen to boost investment in India, recognising it as a thriving democracy with improving living standards. “Australia is keen to increase investments in India. Like Australia, India is a thriving democracy. We want to work with countries like India,” Farrell stated. “We see great opportunities in India. Thanks to policies of the current government, living standards are improving… We see a fantastic opportunity for Australia.”
On India-Australia ties, Farrell noted that, “we continue to build a strong relationship with the Indian government, the Indian people. Indians now represent a significant portion of our tourists, migrants, and students.”
