After nearly a decade, India and New Zealand have decided to restart talks on a free trade agreement to strengthen economic ties. The discussions originally began in April 2010 under the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) to improve trade in goods, services, and investment. However, after nine rounds of negotiations, the talks came to a halt in 2015.
New Zealand’s Prime Minister Christopher Luxon is on a four-day visit to India from March 16. The goal of the India-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (FTA) is to create a fair deal that strengthens supply chains and improves trade opportunities for both countries.
India and New Zealand have officially restarted talks for a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) aimed at benefiting both countries, according to the Commerce Ministry. The announcement came after a meeting between India’s Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal and New Zealand’s Trade Minister Todd McClay.
Wonderful to meet my friend, Mr. Todd McClay, New Zealand’s Trade Minister.
We are delighted to announce the launch of India-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations. This marks a significant milestone in our partnership, reflecting our shared vision to deepen trade… pic.twitter.com/d4WkV7fVWg
— Piyush Goyal (@PiyushGoyal) March 16, 2025
India and New Zealand’s trade has been growing steadily, crossing $1 billion between April and January 2025. Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said that the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) talks aim to create new business opportunities and benefit consumers, helping both countries grow together.
According to the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI), India’s Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with New Zealand may not benefit Indian companies much. This is because many Indian goods already enter the New Zealand market without import duties.
New Zealand’s average import tariff is just 2.3 per cent, compared to India’s 17.8 per cent, it has said. The bilateral trade between the two countries stood at $873.4 million (exports $538.33 million and imports $335 million) in 2023-24 as against $1.02 billion in 2022-23.
The GTRI report has said that 58.3 per cent of New Zealand’s tariff lines (or product categories) are duty-free, meaning Indian products already enjoy crucial access without a trade pact in the New Zealand market.
The Indian diaspora in New Zealand, with over 250,000 people of Indian origin, provides a strong cultural link that can be used to strengthen trade relations.
India’s major goods exports to New Zealand include clothing, fabrics, and home textiles; medicines and medical supplies; refined petrol; agricultural equipment and machinery such as tractors and irrigation tools; auto; iron and steel; paper products; electronics; shrimps; diamonds; and basmati rice.
The main imports are agricultural goods, minerals, apples, kiwifruit, meat products such as lamb, mutton, milk albumin, lactose syrup, coking coal, logs and sawn timber, wool, and scrap metals.
According to trade experts, the tricky point in the talks would be duty concessions in agri products like apple, kiwi, dairy, and wine. India has not yet given any important concession in dairy to any of its other FTA partners, including Singapore, Japan, South Korea, and the ASEAN.
