India-New Zealand trade pact set to take effect October 20

The India-New Zealand free trade agreement is scheduled to take effect on October 20, giving Indian goods duty-free access across New Zealand’s market and opening selected Indian tariff concessions to New Zealand exports. The agreement’s trade and investment gains remain targets and anticipated benefits, not results established by the reports available before its start date. Under the pact, New Zealand will remove duties on all Indian goods entering its market, including products in textiles, apparel, leather and footwear. India, in turn, is reducing tariffs on 70% of its tariff lines, covering about 95% of the current value of bilateral trade. Some reductions will be phased in over as long as 10 years, and sensitive products including dairy, onions, almonds and sugar are excluded from concessions. The terms also include safeguards and quotas for selected New Zealand agricultural exports, including apples, kiwifruit and honey. An agriculture productivity partnership is intended to support cooperation, with action plans covering kiwifruit, apples and honey. The agreement provides for a new temporary employment visa pathway for skilled Indian workers. It allows a quota of 5,000...