Didn't open sectors where India can face problem: Piyush Goyal

Commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal on Saturday said that India didn't give concessions to Australia in sectors where the country could face a problem in the Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA) that has strict value addition norms and safeguards.

"We haven't opened any sector where India can face a problem," he said.

India has kept many sensitive products in the exclusion category (29.8% of tariff lines) in the pact without offering any concession. They include milk and other dairy products, chickpeas, walnut, wheat, rice, bajra, apple, sunflower seed oil, sugar, oil cake, gold, silver, platinum, jewellery, iron ore and most medical devices among others.


Moreover, for the first time, India has made a developed country like Australia agree to the condition of "melt and pour" as product specific rules for steel products wherein steel will need to be melted and moulded before being shipped.

Asked if any elements of the ECTA have been drawn from the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership agreement of which Australia is a part, Goyal said almost 800 products are subject to product-specific rules of origin and cumulation principle will not be applicable.

"The products will have to be fully made in Australia...the value addition norms are very stringent," he said.

Goyal also said efforts are on for the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India, the drug controller and Bureau of Indian Standards to open offices in Australia for seamless and faster approvals.

Asked if this pact will set the template for proposed trade agreements with the UK and EU, Goyal said, "Every agreement stands on its own legs and every economy is different."