A day before Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s landmark visit to New Zealand, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced that 57 per cent of New Zealand’s exports to India would become tariff-free from the first day under the proposed India-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (FTA), describing it as a major boost for Kiwi businesses.
Taking to social media platform X on Thursday, Luxon welcomed the trade pact and highlighted its potential to unlock significant opportunities in the Indian market.
“New Zealand businesses are set to boom with our India Trade Deal. Fifty-seven per cent of everything we export to India will be tariff-free from day one,” Luxon wrote.
The announcement comes ahead of Modi’s two-day state visit to New Zealand from July 10 to 11, the first by an Indian Prime Minister to the country in nearly four decades.
Earlier, while announcing the visit, Luxon described India as one of the world’s largest and fastest-growing economies and an increasingly important partner for New Zealand.
“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,” he said.
Luxon added that the agreement would provide New Zealand businesses with greater access to India’s 1.4-billion-strong consumer market, creating new economic opportunities, generating jobs and boosting wages.
The India-New Zealand FTA, signed earlier this year, aims to deepen bilateral trade, promote investment and strengthen cooperation across goods and services.
Under the agreement, all Indian exports will receive duty-free access to the New Zealand market, while New Zealand will secure broader access to one of the world’s fastest-growing major economies.
For India, the deal reinforces its Indo-Pacific economic strategy by expanding trade ties with a high-income Pacific nation. For New Zealand, it provides greater market access at a time of increasing global trade uncertainty.
During his visit to Auckland, Prime Minister Modi is expected to hold wide-ranging talks with Luxon focusing on trade, commerce, defence cooperation and other key areas of bilateral engagement.
