Amid deepening global uncertainty, India and New Zealand signed a bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) on Monday, 13 months after negotiations began. The deal grants duty-free access to all Indian goods and increases market access for 95 per cent of New Zealand’s exports.
The pact, which commits New Zealand to facilitate $20 billion in investment into India over 15 years and aims to double bilateral trade in goods and services to $5 billion within five years, is expected to be implemented by year-end following New Zealand’s parliamentary ratification. The FTA was signed in Delhi by Commerce & Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and New Zealand Trade Minister Todd McClay.
“At a time of global uncertainty, this FTA is a clear commitment by both sides to stable, predictable, and rules-based trade,” said New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon in a message read by McClay.
A historic step: PM
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the agreement is a historic step toward shared prosperity. “The $20 billion investment will strengthen cooperation in agriculture, manufacturing, and technology,” Modi said in a statement read by Goyal.
Immediate duty elimination on all Indian goods will boost labor-intensive sectors like textiles, engineering and leather, which currently face New Zealand tariffs of up to 10 per cent. Goyal added that Indian textile hubs and MSME-driven sectors would see strengthened integration into global value chains.
India also secured New Zealand’s “best-ever” services offer across 118 sectors. Key provisions include a new TEE visa pathway for 5,000 Indian professionals and removed caps for students, who gain guaranteed 20-hour weekly work rights and extended post-study visas, up to three years for STEM graduates and four years for PhD holders.
For New Zealand, over half of exports to India will see tariffs eliminated immediately, rising to 80 per cent once fully phased in. Sheep meat, wool, coal, and forestry items will benefit from immediate duty elimination.
New Zealand farmers also gain duty-free kiwifruit exports within a substantial quota and a 50 per cent tariff cut for apples subject to a quota. Wine tariffs will drop from 150 per cent to 25 per cent or 50 per cent (depending on the value of the wine) over ten years, supported by a Most Favoured Nation (MFN) commitment. Additionally, mānuka honey tariffs will fall from 66 per cent to 16.5 per cent over five years, while dairy ingredients for re-export gain duty-free access from day one, the New Zealand government noted in a statement.
The FTA further provides duty-free access for bulk infant formula over seven years and for cherries, avocados, and blueberries over ten years.
“This deal will diversify New Zealand’s export markets and put our exporters on a level playing field with competitors already enjoying preferential access in India,” Luxon said.
Wine & services
The MFN commitment on wine and services will ensure that in case India-New Zealand FTA comes into force before India’s free trade pact with the EU, better access secured by the bloc for its wine and services will be extended to New Zealand exporters as well, per the New Zealand government.
India’s goods exports to New Zealand were valued at $711 million in FY25 while services exports in 2024 were at $ 634 million, per government figures.
Published on April 27, 2026