NEW DELHI: CUTS International, in partnership with the Australian Institute of International Affairs (AIIA), Victoria, hosted a high-level hybrid dialogue Friday on the future of the Australia–India Free Trade Agreement (FTA) amid Donald Trump’s return to the U.S. presidency.
The event, titled “Are We Setting Sail Without Checking the Weather? Implications for the Australia-India FTA under Trump 2.0,” examined how rising economic nationalism and U.S. policy shifts could reshape India-Australia relations.
Opening the discussion, AIIA Victoria President Richard Iron stressed the importance of strengthening bilateral ties. The session was moderated by Dr. Michael Moignard, AIIA Council Member.
Prof. Amitabh Mattoo of Jawaharlal Nehru University called the FTA a hedge against global trade volatility, noting that Trump’s tariff policies threaten predictability in India-U.S. defence technology ties. CUTS Secretary General Pradeep S. Mehta said Trump’s pivot away from multilateral frameworks such as the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) creates an opportunity for India and Australia to lead resilient trade corridors and harmonise rules in areas such as agriculture, clean tech, and digital flows.
The dialogue followed a Sept. 1 MoU between CUTS and AIIA aimed at boosting joint research, policy analysis, and discourse on trade and security. Experts including Reshad Ahsan of the University of Melbourne, Arpita Mukherjee of ICRIER, and Ambika Vishwanath of the Kubernein Initiative highlighted the FTA’s potential to strengthen supply chains, promote digital trade, and advance women’s economic empowerment.
Speakers agreed that with U.S. commitment to multilateral frameworks uncertain, India and Australia have a critical opportunity to shape transparent, rules-based regional trade norms aligned with Quad objectives.
