FTA talks with India may conclude by year-end: Australia

NEW DELHI : Australia today said that negotiations with India on free-trade agreement are on track and expected to be concluded by the end of the year.

Australian Minister for Trade and Investment Andrew Robb said the country has placed conclusion of the pact at the highest priority level.

"I do feel after discussions with my counterpart (Commerce and Industry Minister) Nirmala Sitharaman that we are on track to complete (the negotiations) by end of the year.

"Lot of work still needs to be done but I think we have arrived at a point where we can see the pathway to conclude (the talks). We have come to understand clearly that we have great opportunities for both the countries in this (pact)," he told reporters here.

Robb is here to participate in the Global Exhibition on Services.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Australian counterpart Tony Abbott have set a target of completing the negotiations by the end of this year, Robb said.

The Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) negotiations, which started in 2011, are aimed at liberalising trade in goods and services besides creating a level-playing field to boost investments.

Talking about matters which are yet to be resolved in the pact, he said there are some issues such as tariff and market access in the services sector.

"Still (there are) some very big differences on tariffs in agriculture. We are talking about those issues. There is some progress on that. We are also putting a bigger focus on what we can do to increase productivity in agriculture," he added.

Asked whether Australian companies face tax related problem in India, Robb said: "Yes, we do but again there is tax reform agenda here (in India). GST and other things will have a very material impact on that".

The Minister said that Australia has double taxation agreement with India and "we have got mechanisms which we are looking at across the board to see if we can minimise the difficulties".

"Every country has its own peculiar tax arrangement. We can point the finger on India but we all have got issues that we need to address," Robb added.

Asked when Australia will start supply of Uranium to India, the Minister said these are commercial matters.

However, he said: "I can't give you the time but the finishing line is inside".

Robb said huge opportunities exist for businesses in both India and Australia.

The minister said both sides are looking at resolving issues to facilitate investments.

The two-way trade between India and Australia stood at USD 12.12 billion in 2014-15.

Source : economictimes.indiatimes.com