Australia to Eliminate All Tariffs on Indian Exports in the New Year from 1st January 2026 Under ECTA

From News Desk

Australia will eliminate tariffs on 100% of its tariff lines for Indian exports starting January 1, 2026, under the India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA). This significant development was announced by Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal as the bilateral trade pact marked its third anniversary.

Major Boost for Indian Exporters

The elimination of all Australian tariffs represents a substantial opportunity for India’s export sector, particularly benefiting labour-intensive industries. Piyush Goyal, Minister for Commerce and Indusry emphasised that this move will open fresh avenues for Indian exporters, MSMEs, farmers, and workers.

Goyal stated on social media platform X, “Over the past three years, the Agreement has delivered sustained export growth, deeper market access, and stronger supply-chain resilience, benefiting Indian exporters, MSMEs, farmers, and workers alike.”

India’s export performance to Australia has shown positive momentum under the ECTA framework –

Trade Metric	Performance
Export Growth (FY2024-25)	8% increase
Trade Balance	Improved overall position
Agreement Duration	3 years since implementation
Implementation Date	December 2022

Strategic Trade Diversification

This development comes at a crucial time as India seeks to diversify its export destinations amid changing global trade dynamics. The country has been exploring alternative markets, particularly after facing trade challenges with the United States, India’s largest trading partner. India has been subject to 50% tariffs on exports to the US since August 27, 2025, under the Trump administration.

ECTA Framework and Objectives

The India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement, which became operational in December 2022, aims to strengthen bilateral economic ties through progressive tariff elimination, simplified market access, and enhanced supply chain integration. The complete removal of Australian tariffs by January 2026 represents a significant milestone in achieving these objectives and demonstrates the agreement’s effectiveness in facilitating trade growth between the two nations.

Australia’s Advantage

ECTA contains commitments that will benefit services suppliers and professionals considering entering the Indian market and who are already doing business in India.

When it enters into force, the Australia-India Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA) will create new opportunities for Australian goods and services exporters in India’s enormous and growing market of nearly one and a half billion consumers. ECTA will eliminate tariffs on over 90 per cent of Australia’s goods exports to India by value, with tariffs on over 85 per cent of our exports eliminated on 29 December 2022, and phased elimination of tariffs over 2, 4 or 6 years for an additional 5 per cent of our exports, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Australia.

To improve professional mobility, a new framework to support the streamlining of recognition of professional qualifications, licensing and registration procedures between professional services bodies will be established.

Australian service suppliers will benefit from full or partial access across more than 85 Indian services sectors and subsectors. Australian services suppliers in 31 sectors and subsectors are also guaranteed to receive the best treatment accorded by India to any future free trade agreement partner.

These sectors include –

higher education and adult education
business services (tax, medical and dental, architectural and urban planning
research and development
communication, construction and engineering
insurance and banking
hospital, audiovisual and tourism and travel.

Modern commitments will provide for non-discriminatory treatment for Australian service suppliers across a wide range of sectors. There will also be improved transparency and predictability around the domestic regulations that apply in India.

India will provide market access for single-brand retailing and franchising, as well as commitments regarding wholesale distribution services. Australian internet services businesses in India will also have more opportunities to expand their portfolio with foreign equity limit of 74 per cent for commercial presence.

ECTA contains separate Annexes on Financial Services, Professional Services and Telecommunications Services, consistent with the growth opportunities these sectors represent.

Preferential tariffs for Australian goods exports to India –

Sheep Meat – elimination of 30% tariffs on 29 December 2022
Wool – elimination of tariffs on 29 December 2022
Seafood – elimination of tariffs on 29 December 2022 for fresh rock lobster and elimination of tariffs over 6 years for other fresh, frozen and processed seafood products, including frozen rock lobster, Atlantic salmon and tuna.
Infant formula – elimination of tariffs over 6 years.
Barley, oats and lentils – locked-in duty-free entry for barley and oats and immediate 50% tariff reduction for in- quota exports of lentils.
Nuts – elimination of tariffs over 6 years on macadamias, cashews in-shell, shelled pistachios and hazelnuts. For almonds, immediate 50% tariff reduction on in-quota exports.
Fruit and vegetables – elimination of tariffs over 6 years for avocados, onions, cherries and berries. Reduction of tariffs over 6 years for apricots and strawberries. For oranges, mandarins and pears, immediate 50% tariff reduction for in-quota exports.
Wine – reduction of 150% tariff over 9 years for bottles over import prices of US$5 and US$15 and guaranteed best market access by India in any future FTA.
Resources – elimination of tariffs on 29 December 2022 for coal, alumina, LNG, metallic ores such as copper, manganese and zirconium, titanium dioxide and certain non-ferrous metals.