Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: India and New Zealand inked a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) on Monday, lowering tariffs on key fruit imports such as kiwifruit and apples, expanding opportunities for Indian exports, and easing visa access as the two nations deepen economic ties, the media reported.
The pact, concluded in December 2025 after nearly nine months of deliberations, is among New Delhi’s fastest-achieved trade deals, and will cut or remove tariffs on 95 per cent of New Zealand’s exports to India, including seafood, iron, steel and scrap aluminium.
“The benefits of this FTA are widespread,” New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said in a statement, adding that it would open the doors of opportunity to 1.4 billion (140 crore) consumers in the Indian market.
“New Zealand has also committed to invest USD 20 billion,” Union Minister for Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal said after signing the pact with his New Land counterpart Todd McClay in the presence of business leaders from both countries in New Delhi.
In agriculture, India kept sensitive sectors including dairy, coffee, sugar, spices, edible oils and rubber outside market access commitments to protect domestic producers, he said.
The bilateral FTA is part of India’s push to diversify exports amid global trade tension, including uncertainty over US tariffs and the ongoing West Asian conflict.
India is also advancing trade talks with Britain, Oman, and the European Union as it pushes for wider market access with major partners.
Under the fresh deal, New Zealand will offer market access across 118 services sectors from the professional, audio-visual, and computer-related work, to construction, telecoms, and tourism.
It also provides a quota of 5,000 temporary employment visas for Indian professionals and 1,000 working holiday visas, while easing post-study work rights for Indian students, the reports said.
The FTA requires approval from New Zealand’s parliament, but is expected to pass after support expressed by the opposition Labour Party last week. Trade agreements in New Zealand have historically received bipartisan support.
Tariff cuts
The India-NZ deal will lower tariffs on wine over 10 years and allow immediate duty-free access for dairy and other food ingredients meant for re-export, while phasing in duty-free access for bulk infant formula and other high-value dairy products over seven years, and halving a tariff on high-value milk albumins within a New Zealand-specific quota.
Todd McClay said the deal would support New Zealand’s goal of doubling exports in 10 years. “It will deliver thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in additional exports.”
More than half of New Zealand’s exports to India will become duty-free immediately, with tariffs on other products reduced over time, New Zealand said in a statement.
The FTA is expected to boost key Indian export sectors such as textiles, leather, pharmaceuticals, engineering goods and automobiles, while allowing duty-free access to industrial inputs such as wooden logs, coking coal and metal scrap.
The India-NZ two-way trade remains modest. Data showed merchandise trade at about USD 1.3 billion in 2024-25, while total goods and services trade was estimated at USD 2.4 billion in 2024.