What India’s new trade pact with New Zealand actually changes for exporters

India and New Zealand signed a Free Trade Agreement earlier this year aimed at deepening bilateral trade, boosting investment and expanding cooperation across goods and services between the two countries. Under the framework, all Indian exports will receive duty-free access to the New Zealand market, while 57% of New Zealand’s exports to India will be tariff-free from day one.

New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon detailed the terms this week, a day ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s two-day state visit to the country — the first state visit by an Indian prime minister to New Zealand in nearly four decades. “New Zealand businesses are set to boom with our India Trade Deal,” Luxon said, adding that the agreement would bring “more money into Kiwi communities, creating jobs and lifting wages.”

The deal gives New Zealand exporters access to a consumer market of 1.4 billion people, while for India, it strengthens the country’s presence in a high-income Pacific economy as part of its broader Indo-Pacific economic strategy.

During his visit, Modi is scheduled to hold bilateral talks with Luxon covering trade, commerce and defence cooperation, alongside meetings with business and sports leaders and an address to the Indian diaspora in Auckland.