New Zealand-India Economic Relationship Overview

India is a strategic priority for New Zealand because of its growing global influence, economic scale, and regional importance.

• Deepening trade and investment links offers significant potential to diversify New Zealand’s export markets and boost growth.
• Partnering more closely with India helps New Zealand support a stable, rules-based trading order and advance shared interests in security and prosperity.
• India’s 300,000-strong diaspora in New Zealand forms a vital “living bridge” that strengthens cultural, commercial, educational, and social connections, providing a strong foundation for deeper bilateral engagement.

Despite India being one of the largest and fastest-growing economies in the world, it is only New Zealand’s12th largest goods and services export market (with total exports to India of NZ$1.79 billion in the year ended June 2025). There are significant opportunities to increase trade between the two countries.

The New Zealand-India FTA will create valuable opportunities for New Zealand and Indian exporters to expand two-way trade. It also supports the Government’s ambitious goal of doubling the value of exports in 10 years.

The FTA provides New Zealand goods and services exporters with:

• significant tariff preferences on key exports;
• preferential access to India’s middle class which within five years will provide a larger market than the entire population of the EU or ASEAN ;
• a more level playing field with key competitors who already have FTAs or other advantages in India, including Australia, UK, and Chile among others; and
• greater opportunity for diversification and to grow exports

Key outcomes include:

• 95% of New Zealand’s current exports will be tariff free or have sharply reduced tariffs
• Tariffs will be fully eliminated immediately on day one for more than half of our exports and for over 80% once the FTA is fully phased in. The average tariff applied to our current exports will drop sharply to just 3%.
• Estimated tariff savings on day one of $43 million growing to $62 million based on current trade levels, likely to rise with the expected growth in trade resulting from the FTA.
• In services and wine, gains are future proofed with a commitment that any better outcome offered to India’s FTA partners will be automatically passed on to us; similarly, the FTA contains a consultation commitment for dairy should India offer tariff concessions to a comparable economy in future.
• Streamlined customs processes at the border, reduced transaction costs, increased transparency, and greater certainty for exporters.
• India Customs will release all goods within 48 hours, and in the case of perishable goods and express consignments, endeavour to do so within 24 hours. 
• Services exporters, particularly in key sectors like fintech, tertiary and private education, professional and environmental services will benefit from a level playing field with competitors.
• As with our other trade agreements, the FTA includes a Treaty of Waitangi exception that protects the New Zealand Government’s ability to adopt any policy it considers necessary to fulfil its obligations to Māori.
• A significant focus on cooperation and technical assistance activities that will provide opportunities to grow durable, long term, and mutually beneficial partnerships between Indian and New Zealand sectors, (including for forestry, horticulture, apiculture and honey, livestock, fisheries and aquaculture, wine, traditional knowledge, and medicine, tourism, audio visual production and sports).