A nine-month sprint from negotiating table to signing ceremony at Bharat Mandapam and the target is to double trade to $5 billion in five years
India and New Zealand formally signed their Free Trade Agreement on Monday, April 27, at New Delhi’s Bharat Mandapam a deal negotiated in a remarkable nine months, from March to December 2025, and hailed by New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon as “once in a generation.”
The agreement is sweeping. All 8,284 products exported from India will become duty-free in New Zealand from the very first day the agreement takes effect, ending tariffs that currently average 2.2%. India, in turn, has eliminated or reduced tariffs on 95% of New Zealand’s exports, covering 70.03% of tariff lines with wool, coal, wine, avocados, and Manuka honey among the beneficiaries. Crucially, India made no concessions on dairy, onions, sugar, spices, edible oils, or rubber , protecting domestic farmers. A $20 billion New Zealand investment pledge over 15 years anchors the deal’s ambition, with bilateral trade targeted to double to $5 billion within five years.
Parliamentary ratification in New Zealand is expected before the agreement enters force later in 2026.
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