New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon on Thursday said that more than half of the country’s exports to India will be tariff-free from day one as part of the Free Trade Agreement between the two countries.
“New Zealand businesses are set to boom with our India Trade Deal. 57% of everything we export to India will be tariff free from day one,” Luxon said in a post on X.
India and New Zealand signed a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) in New Delhi in April, marking a significant step towards strengthening economic ties between the two countries.
Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said the agreement was finalised after years of high-level discussions and will be signed in the presence of both leaders. The FTA aims to double bilateral trade to five billion dollars over the next five years.
India and New Zealand Free Trade Agreement
The FTA signed on 27 April providing 100% duty-free access for Indian exports across 8,284 tariff lines.
Bilateral merchandise trade stood at USD 1.16 billion in FY2026, registering an 8% CAGR over FY2022–FY2026 despite moderating from the FY2025 peak.
India’s exports to New Zealand declined to USD 566 million in FY2026, while imports rose to USD 589 million, resulting in a merchandise trade deficit of USD 23 million.
India’s export basket is becoming increasingly value-driven, led by pharmaceuticals, passenger vehicles and refined petroleum products.
Imports from New Zealand are increasingly concentrated in industrial raw materials such as wood logs, ferrous scrap, coal and aluminium scrap, supporting India’s manufacturing sector.
The FTA is expected to create new opportunities across manufacturing, agriculture, MSMEs, services, investment and skilled workforce mobility, while strengthening trade between the two countries.
