India and New Zealand announced the successful conclusion of the free trade agreement, which was materialised in a record time of nine months.

The FTA, described as ambitious and landmark, was finalised just nine months after negotiations began during New Zealand’s prime minister visit to India in March 2025.

“This historic Agreement eliminates and reduces tariffs on 95 per cent of New Zealand’s exports – among the highest of any Indian FTA – with almost 57 per cent being duty-free from day one, increasing to 82 per cent when fully implemented, with the remaining 13 per cent subject to sharp tariff cuts,” New Zealand’s trade and investment minister Todd McClay announced earlier this month.

India currently ranks as New Zealand’s 12th largest goods and services export market, representing 1.5% of New Zealand’s exports.

Furthermore, India-New Zealand two-way total trade amounts to NZ$3.68bn annually (year ended June 2025).

The leaders of India and New Zealand agreed that the FTA would serve as a catalyst for greater trade, investment, innovation and shared opportunities between both countries.

India’s prime minister Shri Narendra Modi and New Zealand prime minister Christopher Luxon agreed that the conclusion of the FTA in a record time of 9 months reflects the shared ambition and political will to further deepen ties between the two countries.

According to the release, the FTA is expected to significantly deepen bilateral economic engagement, enhance market access, promote investment flows, strengthen strategic cooperation between the two countries, and also open up new opportunities for innovators, entrepreneurs, farmers, MSMEs, students and youth of both countries across various sectors.

Both leaders expressed confidence in doubling bilateral trade over the next five years as well as an investment of $20bn in India from New Zealand over the next 15 years.

New Zealand and India expect the agreement to be signed in the first half of next year.

According to a release from the NZ government, the key outcomes for New Zealand include:

Tariff elimination or reduction on 95 per cent of New Zealand’s exports.

Duty-free access on almost 57 per cent of New Zealand’s exports from day one, increasing to 82 per cent when fully implemented, with the remaining 13 per cent being subject to sharp tariff cuts.

Immediate tariff elimination on sheep meat, wool, coal and over 95 per cent of forestry and wood exports.

Duty-free access on most seafood exports, including mussels and salmon, over seven years. 

Duty-free access on most iron, steel and scrap aluminium, over 10 years or less. 

Duty-free access for most industrial products, over five to 10 years 

50 per cent tariff cut for large quota of apples – nearly double recent average exports.

Duty-free access for kiwifruit within a quota almost four times our recent average exports, and tariff halved for exports outside of quota. 

Duty-free access for cherries, avocados, persimmons and blueberries, over 10 years. 

Tariffs on wine reduced from 150 per cent to either 25 or 50 per cent (depending on the value of the wine) over 10 years plus Most Favoured Nations (MFN) commitment. 

Tariffs on mānuka honey cut from 66 per cent to 16.5 per cent over five years. 

MFN status and liberalisation across services exports. 

Duty-free access for dairy and other food ingredients for re-export from day one. 

Duty-free access for bulk infant formula and other high-value dairy preparations over seven years.

50 percent tariff cut for high value milk albumins within a NZ-specific quota equal to current export volumes.