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24-12-2025
WELLINGTON: New Zealand and India have concluded a Free Trade Agreement, offering New Zealanders unprecedented access to 1.4 billion Indian consumers, Trade and Investment Minister Todd McClay announced Monday.
This historic Agreement eliminates and reduces tariffs on 95 percent of New Zealand’s exports among the highest of any Indian FTA with almost 57 percent being duty-free from day one, increasing to 82 percent when fully implemented, with the remaining 13 per cent subject to sharp tariff cuts.
It puts New Zealand exporters’ on an equal or better footing to our competitors across a range of sectors and opens the door to India’s rapidly expanding middle class.
Negotiations began on 21 March and concluded after nine months of intensive effort.
“This once-in-a-generation Agreement creates opportunities New Zealand exporters have never had in India. This deal is in New Zealand’s best interest and will deliver thousands of jobs and billions in additional exports,” McClay says.
“The Indian economy is forecast to grow to NZ$12 trillion by 2030. The India-NZ Free Trade Agreement unleashes huge potential for our world-class exporters to the world’s largest country and will significantly accelerate progress towards New Zealand’s ambitious goal of doubling the value of exports over 10 years.”
Key outcomes for New Zealand include;
Tariff elimination or reduction on 95 percent of our exports.
Duty-free access on almost 57 percent of New Zealand’s exports from day one, increasing to 82 percent when fully implemented, with the remaining 13 percent being subject to sharp tariff cuts.
Immediate tariff elimination on sheep meat, wool, coal and over 95 percent of forestry and wood exports.
Duty-free access on most seafood exports, including mussels and salmon, over seven years.
Duty-free access on most iron, steel and scrap aluminum, over 10 years or less.
Duty-free access for most industrial products, over five to 10 years
50 percent tariff cut for large quota of apples nearly double recent average exports.
Duty-free access for kiwifruit within a quota almost four times our recent average exports, and tariff halved for exports outside of quota.
Duty-free access for cherries, avocados, persimmons and blueberries, over 10 years.
Tariffs on wine reduced from 150 percent to either 25 or 50 per cent (depending on the value of the wine) over 10 years plus Most Favored Nations (MFN) commitment.
Tariffs on manuka honey cut from 66 per cent to 16.5 percent over five years.
MFN status and liberalization across services exports.
Duty-free access for dairy and other food ingredients for re-export from day one.
Duty-free access for bulk infant formula and other high-value dairy preparations over seven years.
50 percent tariff cut for high value milk albumins within a NZ-specific quota equal to current export volumes.
“In a world-first New Zealand will have duty-free access for a large kiwifruit quota nearly four times our current exports with a 50 percent tariff applying outside quota? For the first time in an FTA, India has agreed preferential market access for apples and manuka honey,” McClay says.
“The FTA has broad services coverage and builds significantly on India’s WTO commitments with a focus on financial services, e-payments and FinTech, and includes an MFN clause to future-proof our services trade. (Int’l News Desk)
