New Delhi: After about a decade of gap, India hopes it will sign a free trade agreement or FTA with New Zealand in the next two months to promote economic ties between the two countries. Before signing the FTA deal, India may focus primarily on certain duty offers for government agricultural products such as apples, kiwis, dairy and wine. In addition, India also expects to promote mobility of professionals and skilled workers between the two countries while addressing irregular immigration.
New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, who made a four-day visit in India on March 16, said on Tuesday that he was looking forward to signing a free trade agreement with India within two months, a move that would increase bilateral trade 10 times within a decade. “Let’s push this relationship forward, and I look forward to Prime Minister Modi signing the agreement within 60 days,” Luxen said, while speaking here at the India-New Zealand Economic Summit organized by industrial agency FICCI.
Luxon’s tendency is in the wake of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s statement that the proposed deal will increase the potential of bilateral trade, investment and mutual cooperation, which will encourage sectors such as dairy, food processing and medicine. However, experts believe there will be some tricky views in the discussion, which may focus on exemptions on agricultural products such as apples, kiwis, dairy and wine.
India’s exports to New Zealand include clothing, fabrics and home textiles; pharmaceuticals and medical supplies; refined petrol; agricultural equipment and machinery such as tractors and irrigation tools; automobiles; iron and steel; paper products; electronics; shrimp; diamonds; and basmati rice. Mainly imported are agricultural supplies, minerals, apples, kiwis, meat products such as lamb, lamb, milk albumin, lactose syrup, gel coal, logs and serrated wood, wool, wool and scratched metal.
Under the proposed agreement, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal expects a tenfold increase over the next decade. “I can tell you together that if we work in the spirit of complementary economy, and in the next 10 years, there is little to do with each other, and we have very little sensitivity, we can easily navigate each other or respect the different levels of each country,” he said.
According to official data, bilateral trade between the two countries was US$873.4 million (exports of US$538.33 million and imports of US$335 million) in 2022-23, compared with US$1.02 billion in 2022-23. However, dairy is a key point between the two countries, New Zealand Trade Minister Todd McClay said: “I think there are many opportunities for us to grow trade.
