New Zealand and India have concluded a Free Trade Agreement (FTA), offering New Zealanders unprecedented access to 1.4 billion Indian consumers, Trade and Investment Minister Todd McClay announced on Monday.
This historic FTA eliminates and reduces tariffs on 95 per cent of New Zealand’s exports — among the highest of any Indian FTA — with almost 57 per cent being duty-free from day one, increasing to 82 per cent 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, according to an official statement.
Negotiations began on March 21 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 said in a statement.
“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 per cent of exports; duty-free access on almost 57 per cent of New Zealand’s exports from day one, increasing to 82 per cent when fully implemented, with the remaining 13 per cent being subject to sharp tariff cuts; immediate tariff elimination on sheep meat, wool, coal and over 95 per cent of forestry and wood exports; duty-free access on most seafood exports, including mussels and salmon, over seven years and duty-free access on most iron, steel and scrap aluminium, over 10 years or less, among others.
“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 per cent tariff applying outside quota. For the first time in an FTA, India has agreed preferential market access for apples and manuka honey,” McClay said.
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.
“New Zealand exporters will enjoy duty-free access for dairy and other food ingredients for re-export through the FTA, opening the door to greater collaboration and processing, and offer access to India’s growing number of FTA partners through a dedicated fast-track mechanism,” McClay noted.
“We’ve also agreed to review the FTA one year after entry into force, which provides a mechanism to pursue further improvements in the future,” McClay added.
