India-New Zealand free trade pact talks likely to be closed soon: Commerce Secy

New Delhi, Dec 15 (PTI) Negotiations between India and New Zealand for a proposed free trade agreement are expected to be closed or finalised soon, Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal said on Monday.

After concluding the fourth round of talks, the two sides have recently held both virtual and physical meetings at official as well as ministerial level.

Last week, New Zealand Trade Minister Todd McClay was here to review the progress of negotiations with Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal.

"We are in a good zone where we hope that the agreement will be closed and finalised soon...It is expected to be done soon," Agrawal told reporters here.

The talks were formally launched on March 16, 2025.

India's bilateral merchandise trade with New Zealand stood at USD 1.3 billion in 2024-25, registering a growth of nearly 49 per cent over the preceding year.

The proposed FTA is expected to further boost trade flows, promote investment linkages, strengthen supply chain resilience, and create a predictable framework for businesses in both countries.

New Zealand's average import tariff is just 2.3 per cent.

In a free trade agreement, two countries either significantly reduce or eliminate customs duties on the maximum number of goods traded between them. They also ease norms to promote trade in goods and services.

India and New Zealand began negotiating the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) in April 2010 to boost trade in goods, services, and investment. After nine rounds of discussions, however, the talks stalled in 2015.

India's key goods exports to New Zealand include clothing, fabrics, and home textiles; medicines and medical supplies; refined petrol; agricultural equipment and machinery such as tractors and irrigation tools, auto, iron and steel, paper products, electronics, shrimps, diamonds, and basmati rice.

The main imports are agricultural goods, minerals, apples, kiwifruit, meat products, such as lamb, mutton, milk albumin, lactose syrup, coking coal, logs and sawn timber, wool, and scrap metals. PTI RR HVA