More than four months after announcing the conclusion of negotiations on December 22 last year, India and New Zealand are set to sign their free trade agreement on April 27, aimed at doubling bilateral trade between the two countries.

The pact will give Indian companies duty-free access to the island nation’s markets and is expected to bring in $20 billion of investment over the next 15 years.

The agreement will be signed in the presence of Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and Todd McClay, New Zealand’s Minister for Trade and Investment, at Bharat Mandapam, according to the commerce ministry.

The deal will also provide India with more temporary employment visas and easier access for pharmaceuticals and medical devices.

While the agreement will eliminate or reduce tariffs on 95% of New Zealand’s exports—ranging from wool, coal, and wood to wine, avocados, and blueberries—to India, New Delhi has made no concessions on imports of dairy, onions, sugar, spices, edible oils, and rubber to protect farmers and domestic industry.

New Zealand, which has committed to investing $20 billion in India over the next 15 years across manufacturing, infrastructure, services, innovation, and job creation, will also receive quota-based tariff cuts for kiwifruit and apple exports.

The deal aims to double bilateral trade to $5 billion over five years. It is also expected to help Indian exporters, who are facing global uncertainties—including the West Asia crisis—diversify shipments to the Oceania region. India has already implemented a trade pact with Australia.

Under the agreement, New Zealand will get duty-free access for goods such as sheep meat, wool, coal, and over 95% of forestry and wood products.

It will also receive duty concessions on items such as kiwifruit, wine, certain seafood, cherries, avocados, persimmons, bulk infant formula, Manuka honey, and milk albumins.

To protect the interests of domestic farmers and MSMEs, India will not offer any duty concessions in the politically sensitive dairy sector, including milk, cream, whey, yoghurt, and cheese.

Other products excluded from the pact include vegetable products (onions, chana, peas, corn, almonds), sugar, artificial honey, animal, vegetable or microbial fats and oils, arms and ammunition, gems and jewellery, copper and its products, and aluminium and related articles.

In the services sector, New Zealand will provide a temporary employment visa pathway for Indian professionals in skilled occupations, with a quota of 5,000 visas annually and a stay of up to three years.

This pathway will cover professions such as AYUSH practitioners, yoga instructors, Indian chefs, and music teachers, as well as high-demand sectors including IT, engineering, healthcare, education, and construction, thereby strengthening workforce mobility and services trade.

Under the pact, New Zealand will also establish a dedicated Agri-Technology Action Plan focusing on kiwifruit, apples, and honey to help Indian farmers enhance productivity and quality.

This cooperation will include setting up centres of excellence, improving planting material, capacity building for growers, and providing technical support for orchard management, post-harvest practices, supply chain efficiency, and food safety.

New Zealand has also committed to recognising Geographical Indications (GIs), including amending its laws to facilitate the registration of India’s wines and spirits.

Apart from tariff liberalisation, the agreement includes provisions to address non-tariff barriers through enhanced regulatory cooperation, streamlined customs procedures, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, and technical barriers to trade.

India’s pharmaceutical and medical devices sectors are expected to benefit from faster regulatory approvals in New Zealand through the acceptance of GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice) and GCP (Good Clinical Practice) inspection reports from recognised regulators, including the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the European Medicines Agency (EMA), and the UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).

This will reduce duplicative inspections, lower compliance costs, and expedite product approvals, thereby supporting the growth of India’s pharmaceutical and medical device exports to New Zealand.

The NDA government has so far finalised FTAs with the UAE (implemented in May 2022), Australia (implemented in December 2022), the UK (signed in July 2025), the EFTA bloc (implemented in October 2025), Oman (signed in December 2025), the European Union (negotiations concluded in January 2026), and Mauritius (in force since April 2021).

India has now finalised FTAs with three members of the Five Eyes (FVEY) alliance—Australia, the UK, and New Zealand. The intelligence-sharing network includes Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the UK, and the US. Negotiations for trade agreements are ongoing with the US and Canada.

Bilateral merchandise trade between India and New Zealand stood at $1.3 billion in 2024–25, while total trade in goods and services reached about $2.4 billion in 2024. Services trade alone accounted for $1.24 billion, led by travel, IT, and business services.