Australia-India trade surges, High Commissioner Green sees bright future ahead
In an interview with CNBC-TV18, Green highlighted that India’s exports to the world have grown by 37% over the past five years, whereas exports to Australia have surged by an impressive 66%. This, he explained, is no coincidence: “Australia has many of the materials and skills that India needs for the next phase of its growth,” Green said. He cited resources such as critical minerals essential for electric vehicle (EV) batteries, as well as premium fibres like wool and cotton. These resources align well with India’s “Make in India” initiative, allowing Australian exports to play a crucial role in India’s manufacturing journey.
Australia and India formalised a milestone trade agreement—the Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA)—just 18 months ago. Since then, Indian exports in sectors like automobiles and apparel to Australia have increased significantly. According to Green, automobile exports have doubled, while apparel exports have risen by 20%. Green sees this as the beginning, not the end. With ongoing discussions and over a dozen rounds of negotiations completed for a comprehensive economic cooperation agreement (CECA), he remains hopeful that further expansion in trade will emerge through a true free trade arrangement.
Looking towards the future, Green believes critical minerals will be a game-changer. Australia, as the world’s largest producer of lithium, is well-positioned to supply India with essential resources needed for EV battery production. However, Green pointed out that there is currently no formal supply chain linking Australian lithium to Indian manufacturers. Establishing such a supply chain, he emphasised, could be transformational for both economies, providing India with the resources to achieve its EV manufacturing ambitions while enabling Australia to diversify its mineral export markets. Green is working closely with Indian government officials and business leaders to foster this potential.
Below are the excerpts of the interview.
Q: What would be the growth in trade that you’re expecting in calendar year 2024 over 2023?
Green: What we have seen is powerful growth over many years. Over the last five years, India’s exports to the world have grown 37%. India’s exports to Australia have grown 66%, nearly twice as fast, and there’s a reason for that. Australia has many of the materials and skills that India needs for the next phase of its growth, whether it’s critical minerals to make your EV and battery minerals ambitions come true, whether it’s Australian fibres, wool and cotton to make first-class clothing and rugs that can be sold to the world, or whether our university sector can contribute to the skilling that India needs if it’s going to meet its target. We think that Australian trade is a genuine part of India’s Make in India journey.
Q: Speaking about the larger ambition to have a larger trade agreement, where are we with that right now and when do you expect to conclude it?
Green: We’ve got a first-phase trade agreement. We call it ECTA. It’s been going on for about 18 months now. Success is very remarkable. You look at sectors like autos, where India wants to be a big exporter. Auto exports to Australia have increased 100% since the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) was in place. Apparel exports to Australia have increased by 20% since CECA was in place. We think that this agreement is already delivering big results. But we don’t want to finish there. I’m not going to have a timeline for concluding CECA, but we are very keen to move ahead. We’ve had a dozen or so rounds of negotiation already. We are well advanced. And I think we have the right framework now to be able to take the next step towards truly free trade.
Q: You said that we’ve seen a strong jump in trade, in exports of automobiles and textiles from India to Australia. What are some of the other sectors which you expect to gain in the year 2025?
Green: I think the ones that would make a transformational difference would be critical minerals. We want India to succeed in its ambition to be a big manufacturer of electric vehicles and batteries. And Australia is the largest producer of the critical minerals that are required for that. We produce more than 50% of the lithium in the world. But we don’t have a supply chain with India. And we need to work harder on making sure that the Australian offering is available to Indian major conglomerates. And I’m dead keen on that. We also need to work hard at making sure that the intermediate processing from raw lithium in the ground is processed in Australia and India, so you can make cells and batteries here. I think that would make a transformational difference to our economies. And we’re working pretty hard, both me and my colleagues in the Indian government and business to make that happen.
Q: Do you think cricket makes diplomacy easier and softens things up?
Green: Yes, cricket definitely makes diplomacy easier. It’s the easiest conversation opener, not just for me but for all sorts of Australians who are seeking to do business in India.
My view is that, that affinity and friendship, the English language and cricket and so on, that’s always been there. And that’s always been a positive. I always had great relations with other Indian ambassadors wherever I’ve been. But now we’ve got a true partnership and we can start with cricket. But we need to get on and talk about critical mineral supply chains. We need to get on and talk about how the Indian diaspora in Australia can make a big contribution to trade and investment between our countries. We need to talk more about our strategic engagement in the Indo-Pacific. Cricket is a starter, but now we’ve got many more crucial things we need to do.
