India and New Zealand have completed ratification procedures for their free trade agreement, which grants duty-free access across thousands of tariff lines and will come into force on 20 October.
India and New Zealand will bring their bilateral free trade agreement into force on 20 October, after both countries confirmed on Monday that they had completed the procedures required for ratification.
Indian Trade Minister Piyush Goyal said the two sides had ratified the pact, with New Zealand Trade Minister Todd McClay and India’s High Commissioner to New Zealand, Muanpuii Saiawi, exchanging documents at a ceremony in Wellington on 21 September.
The agreement was signed in New Delhi on 27 April this year. New Zealand’s Parliament passed the legislation needed to implement the deal on 16 September, by 93 votes to 29.
Under the agreement, India will grant duty-free access across all its exports to New Zealand, covering around 8,284 tariff lines. New Zealand, in turn, is opening about 70% of its tariff lines to India, covering roughly 95% of current New Zealand exports, including sheep meat, wool, coal and forestry products.
Dairy remains excluded from the market opening, as India has not significantly eased access for New Zealand’s major dairy exports.
Prime Ministers Christopher Luxon and Narendra Modi have committed to doubling bilateral trade by 2030, from about USD 2.3 billion recorded in the 12 months through June.
