By Alimat Aliyeva<\/p>\n
India and New Zealand have announced that they have reached a
\nfree trade agreement (FTA) expected to boost bilateral trade by
\nhundreds of millions of dollars and deepen economic ties between
\nthe two countries, Azernews reports, citing
\nforeign media.<\/p>\n
New Delhi and Wellington confirmed the breakthrough on Monday,
\nstating that the agreement is scheduled to be formally signed in
\nthe first quarter of next year, following a final legal review of
\nthe negotiated text.<\/p>\n
The announcement comes at a time when governments worldwide are
\nseeking to diversify their trade relationships amid uncertainty
\ncaused by sweeping U.S. tariffs introduced under President Donald
\nTrump. These policies have accelerated a global push toward
\nbilateral and regional trade deals as countries attempt to reduce
\nexposure to protectionism.<\/p>\n
Under the agreement, India will gain zero-duty access for all of
\nits goods exports to New Zealand. In return, Wellington will
\nreceive duty concessions and market access for approximately 70% of
\nIndia\u2019s tariff lines, covering nearly 95% of New Zealand\u2019s exports
\nto India on a phased basis, according to officials.<\/p>\n
New Zealand aims to significantly expand exports of dairy
\nalternatives, fruit, wool, and wine to the Indian market, with
\nstrong growth also expected in horticulture, wood products, and
\nsheep wool. On the Indian side, sectors set to benefit most from
\ntariff-free access include textiles and apparel, engineering goods,
\nleather and footwear, and marine products.<\/p>\n
As part of the broader partnership, New Zealand has committed to
\ninvesting $20 billion in India over the next 15 years, India\u2019s
\nMinistry of Commerce and Industry said. The agreement is also
\nexpected to ease access for skilled Indian professionals to New
\nZealand\u2019s labor market, addressing workforce shortages in key
\nsectors.<\/p>\n
India has intensified efforts to diversify its export
\ndestinations as part of a wider strategy to protect its economy
\nfrom global shocks. Prime Minister Narendra Modi underscored this
\napproach earlier this month during trade talks with Russian
\nPresident Vladimir Putin in New Delhi, alongside discussions on
\ngeopolitical tensions.<\/p>\n
Despite expanding ties with multiple partners, India continues
\nto pursue a careful balance between Eastern and Western economies.
\nCommerce Minister Piyush Goyal reiterated on Monday that, in
\naddition to the New Zealand deal, India is also working on trade
\nagreements with the United States and Canada.<\/p>\n
New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said in a post on X
\nthat exports to India are projected to rise by $1.1 billion to $1.3
\nbillion annually over the next two decades as a result of the
\nagreement. \u201cBoosting trade means more Kiwi jobs, higher wages, and
\ngreater opportunities for hard-working New Zealanders,\u201d he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
However, the deal has faced domestic criticism. New Zealand
\nFirst, a right-wing populist party, warned that the agreement
\n\u201cgives too much away, especially on immigration,\u201d according to a
\nstatement cited by The New Zealand Herald.<\/p>\n
The agreement also touches on sensitive areas for India. In
\nresponse, New Delhi excluded dairy imports\u2014such as milk, cream,
\nwhey, yoghurt, and cheese\u2014from the deal, along with several animal
\nand agricultural products including goat meat, onions, and
\nalmonds.<\/p>\n
India\u2019s chief negotiator, Petal Dhillon, said the agreement will
\nbe signed once the legal review is completed, marking what both
\nsides describe as a significant milestone in Indo-Pacific economic
\ncooperation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By Alimat Aliyeva India and New Zealand have announced that they have reached a free trade agreement (FTA)…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":196562,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[49336,21400,67616,67615,251,553,28049,219,35133,111,43,139,69,42971,135,67614,5858,255],"class_list":["post-196561","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-zealand","tag-analytics","tag-azerbaijan","tag-azernews","tag-baku","tag-breaking-news","tag-business-news","tag-company-news","tag-economy","tag-financial-news","tag-new-zealand","tag-news","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-oil-and-gas-news","tag-politics","tag-socar","tag-turkey","tag-world-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/196561","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=196561"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/196561\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/196562"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=196561"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=196561"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=196561"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}