‘57% tariff-free from day one’: New Zealand PM hails new trade deal with India

New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has announced that 57% of the country’s exports to India will be “tariff-free from day one” under the proposed India-New Zealand trade deal, a day ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s two-day state visit to the country.

Taking to social media platform X, Luxon said the agreement would provide a major boost to New Zealand businesses by expanding their access to the Indian market. “New Zealand businesses are set to boom with our India Trade Deal,” he wrote, adding that “57% of everything we export to India will be tariff free from day one.”

India and New Zealand signed the Free Trade Agreement earlier this year to deepen bilateral trade, boost investment and expand cooperation across goods and services. Under the framework, all Indian exports will receive duty-free access to the New Zealand market, while New Zealand exporters gain access to a consumer market of 1.4 billion people.

Luxon said the deal marks a new phase in the relationship between the two countries: “We are taking the two countries’ relationship to the next level with our New Zealand-India Free Trade Agreement, signed in April, which will deliver more jobs, higher exports and stronger economic growth for New Zealand.”