India and Australia carried out stocktaking discussions on the proposed bilateral comprehensive economic cooperation agreement (CECA) last week ensuring the talks on market access modalities remained aligned with India’s food security objectives, per a government statement.

“The stocktake discussions covered several critical areas of the CECA, including trade in goods, services, mobility, agri-tech cooperation… Both sides emphasised their shared commitment to ensuring that the CECA delivers meaningful benefits and a balanced outcome for both countries,” a statement issued by the Commerce Department on Monday noted.

Five tracks

The India-Australia CECA is set to build on the Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA) implemented by the two countries on December 29, 2022. While the ECTA was an early harvest trade deal focussing mostly on goods trade, the CECA is a deeper and comprehensive agreement covering five tracks. The tracks include goods, services, digital trade, government procurement and Rules of Origin (ROO)-Product Specific Rules Schedule.

The stocktaking meeting, held from December 4 to 6 in New Delhi, was a crucial step in strengthening the trade and strategic partnership between the two nations, the statement noted.

“The discussions also centered on market access modalities that align with India’s food security objectives,” it added.

In the India-Australia ECTA, India ensured that dairy was excluded from tariff reduction commitments. It also took on commitments in very few agricultural products taking care that it did not affect the sensitive items and food security.

“Both delegations expressed optimism about the future of the CECA and the broader India-Australia economic partnership. The discussions have paved the way for further collaboration, particularly in areas such as agricultural innovation, market access, and supply chain resilience,” the statement added.