Trade agreements with UAE and Australia will help India in boosting exports: EPCs
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Various export promotion councils (EPCs) has lauded the trade agreements signed by India with the UAE and Australia, saying the pacts will help the country in boosting exports by granting preferential access to those markets for Indian products. Engineering Exports Promotion Council (EEPC) said that the country has benefited from preferential market access provided by the UAE on over 97 per cent of its tariff lines which account for 99 per cent of Indian exports to the region in value terms.
Eastern regional chairman of EEPC, B D Agarwal, said that this trend has emerged after signing of the India–UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) which became effective from May one, 2022. The India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA), which will come into force from December 29, is expected to create 10 lakh jobs, and raise Indian merchandise exports to Australia by $10 billion. According to him, the ECTA will also allow zero duty on 100 per cent tariff lines, and provide cheaper raw materials to steel and aluminium sectors. The trade pact will also raise the bilateral trade volume to $45-50 billion in five years.
Pankaj Parekh, regional chairman, the Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion Council, said the ECTA will double India's gem and jewellery exports to Australia, from its current $350 million to $800 million in three years. Post the India-UAE CEPA in May, gems and jewellery exports to the region witnessed an overall export growth of 20 per cent to the region.
Regional chairman of Plastics Export Promotion Council (PLEXCONCIL) Lalit Agarwal has said that the export potential for plastics from India stands at $5 billion to the UAE and $6 billion to Australia. Under the India-UAE CEPA, import duty applicable in the UAE on 260 plastic products has been reduced from 5 per cent to zero with immediate effect. Under the India-Australia ECTA, import duty applicable in Australia has been reduced on all the tariff lines for plastic products with immediate effect which would act as a great booster for the outbound shipments.
