India-Australia enter into FTA; coal imports to be duty-free

India has entered into a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Australia, Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal announced today. This means that imports of coking and thermal coals won’t attract a tariff of 2.5%, while coke will be exempted from 5% import duty. India was the top importer of Australian coking coal at 45 mnt in 2021. Thermal coal imports last year were around 21 mnt, as per CoalMint data.