Goyal Says India–New Zealand FTA Will Ensure Zero Tariffs on Entire Export Basket

December 22, 2025

New Delhi: Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Monday that the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between India and New Zealand will ensure zero duty on 100 percent of India’s exports. This will benefit farmers, MSMEs, workers, artisans, women-led enterprises, and youth, while opening up vast opportunities for labor-intensive sectors such as textiles, apparel, leather, and footwear.

Sectors such as engineering and manufacturing, automobiles, electronics, machinery, plastics, pharmaceuticals, and chemicals will also benefit from the agreement.

He said that the agreement will also provide a major boost to investment, with New Zealand committing to facilitate $20 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI) into India over the next 15 years. This investment will focus on manufacturing, infrastructure, services, innovation, and job creation.

“Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, and in close and collaborative partnership with my friend and counterpart, Minister Todd McLay, India and New Zealand have successfully concluded a historic Free Trade Agreement in a record nine months. This is a significant milestone in our bilateral relationship,” Goyal said in a post on X.

Agriculture, Investment, and Technical Cooperation

The Minister further stated that this FTA, with a special focus on empowering farmers, will open up new opportunities for Indian agricultural products—such as fruits, vegetables, coffee, spices, grains, and processed foods—in the New Zealand markets.

Farmers will benefit from higher productivity, improved quality, and higher incomes through agricultural productivity partnerships, centers of excellence, and access to New Zealand’s advanced agri-technologies. Targeted initiatives for horticultural products such as honey, kiwifruit, and apples will further strengthen the sector and support sustainable development.

Keeping domestic sensitivities in mind, India has protected agricultural and allied products—such as dairy, sugar, coffee, spices, edible oils, precious metals (gold and silver), precious metal scrap, copper cathode, and rubber-based products—to ensure the safety of farmers, MSMEs, and domestic industries, the Minister explained.

Services Sector, Labor Mobility, and Market Access

This FTA also creates new opportunities for India’s services sector, including IT and ITES, finance, education, tourism, construction, and other sectors. New Zealand’s first-ever addenda on healthcare, traditional medicine, student mobility, and post-study work open unprecedented opportunities for Indian professionals and students. Furthermore, improved mobility arrangements, such as working holiday visas, post-study work routes, and a dedicated quota of 5,000 temporary employment visas for skilled Indian professionals, will provide Indian talent with better access to global opportunities, Goyal said.

“This mutually beneficial agreement will further strengthen the India-New Zealand economic partnership and advance India’s journey towards the goal of a Developed India 2047,” Goyal added.

According to a Commerce Ministry statement, the agreement includes New Zealand’s best-ever market access and service offerings to India, covering 118 service sectors, including computer-related services, professional services, audio-visual services, telecommunications services, construction services, tourism and travel-related services. Furthermore, it also includes Most-Favoured-Nation (MFN) commitments in approximately 139 sub-sectors.

This FTA opens new avenues for skilled employment, including a new temporary employment entry visa route for Indian professionals. This route will allow a quota of 5,000 visas at any one time and a stay of up to three years. This route covers professionals in high-demand sectors such as IT, engineering, healthcare, education, and construction, including AYUSH practitioners, yoga instructors, Indian chefs, and music teachers, strengthening workforce mobility and services trade.

In addition to tariff liberalization, the FTA also includes provisions related to improved regulatory cooperation, transparency, streamlined customs, sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures, and technical barriers to remove non-tariff barriers. The ministry statement said that all systemic facilitation and fast-track mechanisms for imports serving as inputs for manufactured exports will ensure that tariff concessions translate into effective and meaningful market access.

Commenting on the FTA, New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said, “We have concluded a free trade agreement with India. This will open new doors for New Zealand farmers, producers, and businesses—boosting exports, creating jobs, and raising incomes, enabling all Kiwis to thrive.”