Indian, Australian Officials Eye Possible 2016 Conclusion for Trade Talks

Indian and Australian officials have said in recent weeks that they aim to speed up their ongoing trade negotiations, with some raising the possibility that a deal could be clinched in the coming months. Talks for the trade deal kicked off in May 2011. The two sides had previously aimed to ink an accord by end-2015, with then-Prime Minister Tony Abbott and top Australian trade officials putting that date forward after Canberra finished trade talks with three other major Asian economies: China, Japan, and South Korea. (See Bridges Weekly, 22 January 2015 ) Indian Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, who visited Australia last week, met with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, who succeeded Abbott in office and is of his same Liberal Party, with trade reportedly on the meeting agenda. Like his predecessor, Turnbull has also advocated publicly in favour of an India-Australia deal. Last month, the Australian premier told a Sydney audience that given the slower growth seen in China, “India is next in line to offer new and exciting opportunities.” “India’s investment needs, its voracious appetite for energy and the rapidly-expanding demands of its burgeoning middle class add up to another historic opportunity that we must seize, as we...