India – New Zealand Free Trade Agreement

India and New Zealand have concluded negotiations on a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the objective of doubling bilateral trade within five years.

Key Highlights of the FTA

• Trade & Investment Impact:
  • Expected to double bilateral trade within five years.
  • New Zealand has committed USD 20 billion of investment in India over 15 years, following a framework similar to the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) model.
  • Dedicated Health & Traditional Medicine Annex — New Zealand’s first such agreement with any country.
• Tariff Liberalisation
  • 95% of New Zealand exports: tariffs eliminated or reduced.
  • New Zealand will provide zero-duty market access on 100 per cent of tariff lines for Indian exports.
  • India has extended tariff liberalisation on 70.03 percent of tariff lines, covering 95 percent of New Zealand–India bilateral trade.
  • 29.97 percent of tariff lines are excluded, largely to protect sensitive domestic sectors.
  • Sensitive Sectors Protected by India
    • Dairy, sugar, edible oils, onions, pulses.
    • Animal products (except sheep meat), arms & ammunition.
    • Selected metals (copper, aluminium), gems & jewellery.
• Agriculture and Allied Sectors
  • Indian farmers will gain improved access to New Zealand for fruits, vegetables, coffee, spices, cereals and processed foods.
  • Cooperation initiatives include Agricultural Productivity Partnership,Centres of Excellence and Access to New Zealand’s advanced agricultural technologies
  • Targeted measures for horticultural products such as honey, kiwifruit and apples aim to support sustainable growth.
• Services Trade Commitments
  • New Zealand has offered 
    • Market access in 118 services sectors
    • Most Favoured Nation (MFN) treatment in 139 services sectors
  • India has offered:
    • Market access in 106 services sectors
    • MFN treatment in 45 services sectors
• Student Mobility and Education Provisions
  • New Zealand has signed an Annex on Student Mobility and Post-Study Work Visas with another country for the 1st time
  • Key provisions include: 
    • No numerical caps on Indian students
    • Guaranteed right to work 20 hours per week during study
    • Post-study work visas such as Up to 3 years for STEM Bachelor’s graduates and 4 years for Doctoral graduates
  • The FTA removes numerical caps on Indian students in New Zealand.
• Temporary Employment and Workforce Mobility
  • Introduction of a Temporary Employment Entry (TEE) Visa pathway:
    • Quota of 5,000 Indian professionals at any given time
    • Maximum stay of three years
  • It covers professions such as AYUSH practitioners, yoga instructors, Indian chefs, music teachers, and sectors including IT, engineering, healthcare, education, and construction.
  • A Working Holiday Visa arrangement allows 1,000 young Indians annually to travel to New Zealand with multiple entries for 12 months.

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India–New Zealand Bilateral Relations

• Historical & Political Ties
  • Diplomatic relations established in 1952.
  • Shared linkages through Commonwealth membership, common law traditions, and democratic values.
  • Strong people-level connect via sports (cricket, hockey, mountaineering) and tourism.
• Strategic Vision & Policy Frameworks
  • New Zealand designated India a priority partner under “Opening Doors to India” (2011) and NZ Inc. India Strategy
  • Strategic partnership deepened through “India–NZ 2025: Investing in the Relationship”, focusing on political, economic, and people-centric cooperation.
• Trade & Economic Engagement
  • Trade Rank: New Zealand is India’s 11th largest two-way trading partner.
  • New Zealand is India’s second-largest trading partner in Oceania.
  • Trade Value (2023–24): US$ 1.75 billion
  • Key Sectors: Education, tourism, dairy, food processing, pharmaceuticals, renewable energy, critical minerals.
  • Indian Exports: Pharmaceuticals, gems & jewellery, textiles, motor vehicles, apparel.
  • Indian Imports: Logs, forestry products, wool, fruits, nuts.
• Defence & Maritime Cooperation:
  • Expanding defence engagement through Regular naval port calls and Senior naval leadership exchanges
    • INS Sahyadri and INS Kolkata, made port calls in New Zealand (Aug-Sep 2025)
    • INSV Tarini, an Indian Naval Sailing Vessel (INSV), which is on a circumnavigation mission under Indian Navy’s expedition named “Navika Sagar Parikrama-II’ made a port call at Port Lyttelton (Jan 2025)
• People-to-People & Cultural Ties
  • Indian-origin population: ~292,000 (≈5% of NZ population).
  • Hindi is the fifth most spoken language in New Zealand.
• Education & Knowledge Partnerships
  • India is the second-largest source of international students in NZ (~8,000).
  • Key collaborations includes NZ Centre at IIT Delhi and Joint research in cancer, robotics, cybersecurity, waste management, medical technology

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