More than four months after announcing the end of talks on December 22 last year, India and New Zealand are going to sign their Free Trade Agreement (FTA) on April 27. The purpose of this agreement is to double the mutual trade between the two countries. This agreement will give Indian companies access to the markets of this island country without any duty, and will bring investment of 20 billion dollars in the next 15 years.
According to the Commerce Ministry, this agreement will be signed at the Bharat Mandapam in the presence of Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and New Zealand’s Trade and Investment Minister Todd McClay. This agreement will provide India with more temporary employment visas, and will facilitate market access for medicines and medical equipment.
While on one hand this agreement will eliminate or reduce tariffs on 95 percent of goods coming to India from New Zealand – from wool, coal, timber, wine to avocados and blueberries, on the other hand New Delhi has not given any concession on the import of dairy products, onions, sugar, spices, edible oil and rubber to protect farmers and domestic industries.
New Zealand has promised to invest $20 billion in India in the next 15 years in the areas of manufacturing, infrastructure, services, innovation and job creation. In return, it will also get the benefit of reduction in tariff on quota basis on the export of kiwi fruit and apple. The goal of this agreement is to double mutual trade to 5 billion dollars within five years.
These items will be accessible
This agreement will help those Indian exporters who are facing difficulties due to global uncertainties like the West Asia crisis. They will get the opportunity to diversify their exports to the Oceania region. India has already implemented a trade agreement with Australia. Under this agreement, New Zealand will get duty-free market access to products such as sheep meat, wool, coal, and more than 95 percent of forestry and wood products. Apart from this, it will also get duty concessions on many products like kiwi fruit, wine, some seafood, cherries, avocados, persimmons, bulk infant formula, Manuka honey and milk albumin.
These items were kept out of the deal
To protect the interests of domestic farmers and MSMEs (Small and Medium Enterprises), India will not provide any duty concessions in the politically sensitive dairy sector—such as milk, cream, whey, curd and cheese. Other products that will not be covered under the agreement include vegetable products (onion, gram, peas, maize, almonds), sugar, artificial honey, animal, vegetable or microorganism fats and oils, arms and ammunition, gems and jewellery, copper and its products, and aluminum and its articles. In the services sector, New Zealand will provide a temporary employment entry visa route to Indian professionals in skilled trades, with an annual quota of 5,000 visas and a three-year stay.
This will also be beneficial
This pathway includes Indian professionals such as AYUSH practitioners, yoga instructors, Indian chefs and music teachers; It also includes high demand sectors like IT, engineering, healthcare, education and construction, which will strengthen workforce mobility and services trade. Additionally, under the agreement, New Zealand will establish a special ‘Agri-Technology Action Plan’ on kiwi fruit, apple and honey, which aims to help Indian farmers increase productivity and quality.
This support includes the establishment of ‘Centres of Excellence’, improved planting material, capacity building for growers, and technical assistance for orchard management, post-harvest processes, supply chain performance and food security. New Zealand has also reiterated its commitment with respect to ‘Geographical Indications’ (GIs), including amending its laws to ease the registration of wines and spirits from India.
In addition to tariff liberalization, the agreement also includes provisions to remove non-tariff barriers by enhancing regulatory cooperation; Additionally, rules related to customs duties, sanitary and phytosanitary measures (SPS measures), and technical barriers to trade have also been streamlined.
Pharma sector will get strength
India’s pharma and medical device sector will get a major boost by getting faster regulatory access in New Zealand. This access will be possible by accepting GMP (Good Manufacturing Practices) and GCP (Good Clinical Practices) inspection reports. These reports must have been issued by peer regulators, including the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the EU’s European Medicines Agency (EMA), and the UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).
This will reduce repetition of inspections, reduce compliance costs and speed up the process of approval of products. As a result, India’s exports of pharmaceutical and medical components to New Zealand will get a boost. The NDA government has so far signed FTAs with the UAE (implemented in May 2022), Australia (implemented in December 2022), UK (signed in July 2025), EFTA block (implemented in October 2025), Oman (signed in December 2025), European Union (announced completion of negotiations in January 2026), and Mauritius (implemented from April 2021). Has been finalized.
How much is bilateral trade?
India has so far finalized FTAs with three members of the Five Eyes (FVEY) alliance — Australia, the UK and New Zealand. The five countries of this intelligence sharing network are Australia, Canada, New Zealand, UK and US. Negotiations for a trade deal with the US and Canada are still going on. Bilateral trade between India and New Zealand is projected to reach US$1.3 billion in 2024-25, while total trade in goods and services is expected to reach approximately US$2.4 billion in 2024. In this, services trade alone stood at US $ 1.24 billion, the main contribution of which was travel, IT and business services.
