New Zealand Parliament Clears India FTA Law
93-29 vote clears ratification process as trade pact is expected to take effect later this year
New Delhi: As part of the ratification process, New Zealand’s Parliament on Wednesday passed legislation to implement its Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with India. The agreement was signed in April this year after its conclusion was announced in December last year.
According to reports, the legislation was approved by a vote of 93-29, with the Opposition Labour Party also supporting it. New Zealand trade minister Todd McClay was cited as saying that the agreement would deliver “immediate and substantial” benefits to exporters. He said the trade deal was expected to come into force later this year.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his New Zealand counterpart Christopher Luxon had in December last year jointly announced the “successful conclusion” of what they described as a historic, ambitious and mutually beneficial FTA, negotiated in a record nine months.
The Indian commerce ministry had said the FTA provided zero-duty market access in New Zealand for all Indian exports, including textiles, pharmaceuticals, leather, engineering goods and agricultural products.
It said India had excluded several products, including dairy items, coffee, onions, sugar, spices, edible oils and rubber, from market-access concessions to protect farmers and domestic industry.
India had offered tariff liberalisation to New Zealand on 70 per cent of tariff lines covering 95 per cent of bilateral trade. This would result in the elimination or reduction of Indian tariffs on 95 per cent of New Zealand’s exports to India.
Modi and Luxon had also expressed confidence that bilateral trade would double over the next five years. The two sides also envisaged investments of $20 billion from New Zealand into India over the next 15 years to support manufacturing, infrastructure, services, innovation and employment under the Make in India initiative.
India had described the FTA as a “new generation trade agreement” covering tariffs, agricultural productivity, investment and talent, and as part of a “people-centric, jobs-driven strategic partnership” supporting the Viksit Bharat 2047 vision.