- Tuesday, March 18, 2025
After a gap of about ten years, the two announced resumption of negotiations for a proposed free trade agreement to boost economic ties
By: India Weekly
NEW ZEALAND prime minister Christopher Luxon on Tuesday (18) said he looks forward to signing a free trade agreement with India in 60 days, a move which is expected to increase bilateral trade by 10 times over ten years.
After a gap of about ten years, India and New Zealand on Sunday (16) announced the resumption of negotiations for a proposed free trade agreement to boost economic ties.
Commerce minister Piyush Goyal said it will be a “full-fledged Comprehensive Economic Partnership” agreement between India and New Zealand.
The New Zealand prime minister is here on a four-day visit from March 16.
“Let’s drive this relationship forward, and I look forward to prime minister Modi signing that agreement in 60 days time,” Luxon said while addressing the India-New Zealand Economic Summit organised by industry body FICCI.
According to trade experts, the tricky point in the talks would be duty concessions on agri products like apple, kiwi, dairy, and wine.
“I can tell you that together, there’s every possibility of achieving that 10x growth in the next 10 years,” Goyal said.
“…if we work in the spirit of complimentary economies … there is hardly anything on which we compete with each other, and those few areas of sensitivity we can very easily navigate or respect each other given the different levels of development and different levels of prosperity that each country has today,” Goyal said.
On dairy being a sticking point between the two nations, New Zealand trade minister Todd McClay said, “I think there are many opportunities between us to grow trade. One of the most important things we’re going to do is respect our negotiators.”
When asked about the ongoing trade talks with various countries including the US, Goyal said, “Every engagement stands on its own legs, and every engagement will come up with good results in the interests of India, in the interest of the people and businesses of India, and likewise, our partner.”
Responding to the New Zealand prime minister’s 60-day FTA timeline comment, Goyal remarked, “We are very aspirational. I don’t think any of you imagine that we could do the UAE agreement in 90 days.”
India and New Zealand began negotiating the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) in April 2010 to boost trade in goods, services, and investment.
However, after nine rounds of discussions, the talks stalled in 2015.
According to think tank Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI), India’s proposed FTA with New Zealand would have limited benefits to domestic companies as they are already enjoying duty-free access that market for a significant number of goods.
New Zealand’s average import tariff is just 2.3 per cent, compared to India’s 17.8 per cent, it has said.
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 significant access without a trade pact in the New Zealand market.
India’s key 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.
