Press Room

Free Trade Agreement Announcements with Australia – India, UAE & GCC Countries – 4.4.22

Monday 4^th of April 2022

Dear Valued Clients,

Hope you all had tremendous weekends.

Some of you may have seen in the news over the weekend that Australia and India have signed an intent to close on a Free Trade Agreement.

Under the deal, exports to India are expected to be boosted by at least $45B by 2035 and Australia will open a work/holiday maker program. India is forecasted to become the most populous country in the world within the next two years and under the trade deal, tariffs will be eliminated on entry for “rare earth elements” that will surely delivery a boost for mining exports in the coming years.

At this stage we are still not aware on any of the timings of when these benefits will come into place and what that will also mean for Australian importers at this point in time. Using our China-Australia Free Trade Agreement as a benchmark, the agreement was signed in 2015 and took almost up to 2 years for certain commodities to have duties/tariffs eliminated with certain documentation for customs purposes in both China and Australia. We certainly hope both Australian importers and exporters alike that this will come into effect earlier than those timelines, although it could be staggered over time depending on the goods you or your business are trading.

It is certainly welcome news in addition to the announcements in recent weeks that were made on the Australia-UAE and Australia-GCC Trade agreements – please see details attached.

If you have any questions related to the trade agreements, please feel free to reach out to our Customs department directly on customs@neolink.au for more information.

Best regards,

Neolink Marketing Team