The signing of an interim trade agreement between Australia and India will eliminate 71 per cent of tariffs, covering 91 per cent of Australia’s exports to India, including a suite of Australian minerals.
These minerals include natural sands, magnesium, copper, nickel, cobalt, bauxite, coal, coke and semi-coke of coal, alumina, tin, tungsten molybdenum, silver ore, zirconium, antinomy, lithium, niobium, many rare earths, titanium, vanadium, and phosphates.
Minerals Council of Australia chief executive officer Tania Constable said the interim agreement, ahead of finalising the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) expected in 2022, was an important milestone in Australia deepening and developing its trade and investment relationship with India.
She continued: “It also recognises the mutual benefits of supply chain security and cooperation delivering prosperity and a common effort on global challenges.
“India has represented an enormous potential opportunity for Australian mining and METS companies, and exporters more generally.
“A deeper resources trade and investment relationship with India will broaden our economic, technology and trade coordination adding to the deep people-to-people links between the two nations.”