The India-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (FTA), signed on April 27, came into effect on Tuesday, providing duty-free access to a range of Indian goods, including products from labour-intensive sectors such as textiles and leather.
It is the seventh trade pact to come into force in the last five years. The others are agreements with the UAE, Mauritius, the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) bloc, the UK, Oman and Australia.
Signed on April 27, 2026, the agreement follows negotiations launched in 2010, stalled in 2015 and revived in March 2025. The pact becomes India's 17th operational FTA.
According to experts, the sectors benefiting from the FTA are textiles and apparel, leather and footwear, engineering goods and auto components, gems and jewellery, agriculture and processed foods, pharmaceuticals, and other manufacturing industries.
Gulzar Didwania, Partner, Deloitte India, said the deal is expected to support higher FDI inflows into India, but the scale of any increase remains uncertain and will depend on private-sector investment decisions.
New Zealand has committed FDI worth USD 20 billion in over 15 years.
"The FTA's provisions on duty-free access for certain inputs, bilateral cumulation, customs facilitation, and investment-promotion mechanisms may encourage deeper value-chain integration and improve investment conditions," he said.
He added that the pact has significance beyond trade, strengthening India's strategic position in the Indo-Pacific, expanding its network of FTAs with developed economies.
At a time of growing global trade uncertainty, the India-New Zealand FTA is a strong endorsement of open markets and predictable trade rules. Its target of doubling bilateral trade by 2030 sets an ambitious agenda for both countries.
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