Ind-NZ FTA: India-New Zealand signed free trade agreement, duty on many goods reduced to zero

New Delhi. Leading industry body ASSOCHAM on Monday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the India-New Zealand Business Council (INZBC). Its objective is to systematically implement the industry-related measures under the India-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and to ensure that businesses in both countries take full advantage of the opportunities offered by this agreement.

According to an official statement, better connectivity and strengthening people-to-people ties will be critical to achieving the full potential of the partnership between India and New Zealand in the coming years. The industry body said increased cooperation between trade and industry bodies will ease trade between the two countries and reduce barriers to entry. Also, better air connectivity and tourism cooperation will further strengthen the economic partnership.

This FTA, completed in just nine months on December 22, 2025, and the agreement signed on Monday, is an important step towards strengthening the relations between the two countries. At present the trade in goods between the two countries is about $1.3 billion and the trade in services is $634 million, which is targeted to increase to $5 billion in the next five years. The community of approximately 3 lakh Indians in New Zealand is playing an important role in this partnership.

The statement said that amid global trade uncertainty and supply chain changes, this agreement reflects India’s strategic diversity in the Indo-Pacific region and its commitment to building a strong, inclusive and future-ready economic partnership. FTA with New Zealand is opening up new possibilities for trade and investment. Under this, Indian exports will get 100 percent duty-free access to New Zealand, which is a new chapter in India’s FTA history.

Along with this, an investment of 20 billion dollars has also been promised in India in the next 15 years, which will further strengthen the strong partnership between the two countries. ASSOCHAM Secretary General Saurabh Sanyal said that this agreement is expected to increase trade between the two countries. Exports of textiles, pharmaceuticals, petroleum products and machinery from India will increase, while raw materials and other essential commodities will be imported from New Zealand. He also said that India’s services sector, especially IT, financial services, education, business services and other professional services, can significantly benefit from expanding their reach in New Zealand.

Highlights of India-New Zealand FTA

Negotiations for an India-New Zealand trade agreement actually began in 2010. After nine rounds of discussions, negotiations were halted in 2015. After this, talks started again in March 2025. Which was a new beginning of this process. The successful outcome of the talks was announced on 22 December 2025.

The agreement has 20 chapters, covering key areas such as trade in goods, rules of origin, services, customs procedures and ease of doing business, hygiene and technical barriers to trade, trade remedies, dispute resolution and legal framework. For India, this agreement can be quite beneficial.