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.
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.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to visit New Zealand from July 10 to 11, following an invitation extended by his Kiwi counterpart. This marks the first state visit by an Indian Prime Minister to New Zealand in nearly 40 years.
Earlier, while announcing PM Modi's maiden official visit to the country, Luxon noted on X, "I'm delighted to announce that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will make his first official visit to New Zealand next week."
The Prime Minister observed that India stands as one of the world's largest and fastest-growing economies, holding vital importance for New Zealand's economic well-being.
"We are taking the two countries' relationship to the next level with our New Zealand-India Free Trade Agreement, signed in April, which will deliver more jobs, higher exports and stronger economic growth for New Zealand," Luxon added.
He further mentioned that the agreement will pave the way for fresh opportunities, granting New Zealand's goods and services access to a consumer base of 1.4 billion people, thereby "bringing more money into Kiwi communities, creating jobs and lifting wages."
During his visit to Auckland, PM Modi is scheduled to hold high-level bilateral discussions with Prime Minister Luxon to review the entire gamut of bilateral relations, with a specific focus on trade, commerce, and defence cooperation.
