‘FTA to ease input supplies to MSMEs'

After signing the Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement on Saturday, commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal spoke with a group of journalists in which he explained why it's a win-win deal for both the sides and how it complements each other's spheres of activities.

- BANIKINKAR PATTANAYAK

He added that the deal has also been backed by the domestic wine industry, despite the fact that premium Australian wine will be allowed at concessional duties. Edited excerpts:

On potential competition from Australia

I don't think there is any threat to Indian industry. Australia isn't much into manufacturing, which makes up only about 5-6% of its GDP. But it's a major supplier of raw materials and intermediate goods (like coal, aluminium, etc), which we need. It's important to understand that if raw materials come at a cheap cost to us, our competitiveness in the export market will only improve. It will particularly help our MSME manufacturers.

Moreover, every trade deal is a two-way thing; some amount of give and take is always inevitable. But we have kept our domestic sensitivities in mind while firming up the deal. Dairy is kept out; several farm items such as sugar, rice, wheat, walnut, apple, pulses and oilseeds are kept out.

On access to premium Australian wine