India and New Zealand finalized a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) following nine months of concentrated effort. Prime Minister Narendra Modi engaged in a telephone discussion with New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon to jointly announce the successful completion of the agreement.

In addition to extensive tariff reductions, the agreement paves the way for Indian professionals to seek employment in New Zealand through a limited skilled visa program.

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The FTA is expected to greatly enhance bilateral economic ties, improve market access, boost investment inflows, fortify strategic collaboration between the two nations, and create new prospects for innovators, entrepreneurs, farmers, MSMEs, students, and young people from both countries across multiple sectors, according to the government.

During their discussion, the two leaders conveyed optimism about the prospect of doubling bilateral trade within the coming five years, in addition to forecasting a substantial investment of $20 billion from New Zealand into India over the course of the next 15 years.

Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal says, “This FTA is about building trade around people and launching opportunities for our farmers, entrepreneurs, students, women and innovators”.

 

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“Boosting yields and farmer incomes, the agreement drives modern agricultural productivity. It opens doors for Indian businesses in the region through well-integrated directional exports and gives our youth choices to learn, work and grow on a global stage”.

Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal says, “India’s strengths will help expand exports, support labour-intensive growth and strengthen the services sector, while New Zealand will gain deeper and more predictable access to India’s large and growing economy”.

“The movement of people, students, professionals and skilled workers, will further align and reinforce these complementary strengths”.

Nonetheless, in an extensive post on the social media platform known as X (previously Twitter), Winston Peters, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Racing, and Rail for the New Zealand coalition government, as well as the leader of the New Zealand First party, has expressed their disapproval of the suggested agreement. “New Zealand First is regrettably opposed to the India Free Trade Agreement announced today,” Peters declared on X, on 22 December, adding that the party does not see the announced FTA as “free or fair”.

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Peters further said that his party had urged the coalition partner to “not rush” into concluding a “low-quality” deal with India, and instead “use all three years of this Parliamentary cycle in order to get the best possible deal”.

“National preferred doing a quick, low-quality deal over doing the hard work necessary to get a fair deal that delivers for both New Zealanders and Indians. While New Zealand is completely opening its market to Indian products under this deal, India is not reducing the significant tariff barriers currently facing our major dairy products. This is not a good deal for New Zealand farmers and is impossible to defend to our rural communities,” he claims.