The agreement · signed 27 April 2026
What's actually in it
Thirty chapters, plus schedules and annexes, running to more than 2,000 pages. Here is what each side gets, sector by sector — with the fine print that the headlines usually skip.
Goods: what New Zealand exporters get
India eliminates or reduces tariffs on about 95% of New Zealand's current exports — 57% duty-free on day one, rising to about 82% when fully phased in, with the remaining 13% getting significant cuts. MFAT estimates tariff savings of $43 million a year at entry into force, growing to $62 million at current trade volumes. The average tariff faced by NZ exports drops to about 3%.
| Sector | Outcome | Fine print |
|---|---|---|
| Sheep meat & wool | Tariffs (previously up to 33% on lamb) removed immediately. | Beef is not covered — India does not import it for religious and cultural reasons. |
| Forestry & wood | Over 95% of forestry exports tariff-free immediately; nearly all remaining lines phased out over 7 years. | One of the clearest wins — forestry is a major current export to India. |
| Seafood | Tariffs phased out over 7 years on key lines. | — |
| Apples | First preferential apple access India has given any FTA partner: a tariff-rate quota starting above recent trade levels. | Quota access is conditional on NZ delivering an agreed "action plan" of cooperation with India's apple industry (Annex 2B) — see the debate. |
| Kiwifruit | Tariff-free quota, plus a 50% tariff cut on volumes outside the quota — a first for any exporter to India. | Also tied to an action plan, including "centres of excellence" in India (Annex 2B, Chapter 14). |
| Mānuka honey | First country to secure preferential honey access: 75% tariff cuts over 5 years. | Also tied to an action plan. |
| Wine | Tariffs cut 66–83% over 10 years, with a most-favoured-nation clause passing on any better deal India strikes with others. | Cuts apply above a price threshold of about US$5 per 750ml bottle; much NZ wine currently exports below that price point. |
| Other horticulture | Phased tariff elimination for cherries, avocados, blueberries, persimmons. | — |
| Dairy | Largely excluded. Exceptions: bulk infant formula and some dairy-based preparations phased to zero over 7 years; tariffs on milk-protein albumins halved within a quota. | A consultation clause obliges India to talk to NZ if it ever gives dairy access to a comparable economy. A "fast-track" lets Indian manufacturers import NZ dairy ingredients duty-free for re-export only. |
| Coal & industrial goods | Coal duty-free from day one; cuts across a range of industrial lines. | — |
Goods: what India gets
New Zealand eliminates customs duties on 100% of Indian-origin goods from day one. Because NZ's tariffs were already low, the practical effect is modest — but it is immediate and complete, compared with the phased and partial access NZ receives. The National Interest Analysis estimates roughly NZ$15 million a year in foregone tariff revenue, and notes some import-competing NZ manufacturers may face increased competition.
India also gains an interim mutual recognition arrangement for organics, faster customs clearance commitments (48 hours for general goods, 24 for perishables), and the investment-promotion and mobility commitments described below.
Services
India made commitments in almost 100 service sectors beyond its WTO baseline — including engineering, environmental services, tertiary and adult education, and audio-visual services — with a most-favoured-nation clause that automatically extends to New Zealand any better treatment India gives a future FTA partner. There are annexes on financial services (including fintech and e-payments cooperation), telecommunications, professional services, and a framework for health mobility and traditional medicines, including recognition pathways relevant to rongoā Māori practitioners.
The financial-services annex includes a clause in which both countries agree to "engage in an in-depth study, design and implementation of central bank digital currency (CBDC) in both retail and cross-border payments" (Annex 8A.14(j)) — one of the provisions critics have singled out; see the debate.
Movement of people
This is the most contested part of the agreement, so it pays to be precise. The FTA creates several distinct pathways, some capped and some not:
| Pathway | Numbers | Key conditions |
|---|---|---|
| Skilled workers (TEE) | Capped: 5,000 visas in force at any one time (about 1,667/yr on 3-year terms) — 4,400 across five skilled occupation groups (IT, engineering, healthcare and others), 600 for "iconic Indian occupations" (yoga instructors, chefs, traditional practitioners, musicians). | Job offer from an accredited employer, qualifications, IELTS 6.5 (5 for iconic roles), 3-year maximum stay then a 3-year stand-down (Appendix 8L-1). |
| Intra-corporate transferees & specialists | No numerical cap in the text (Annex 8K, Section B). | Executives, managers, and "specialists" of companies operating in NZ; salary paid entirely by the (Indian) employing company; initial stay up to 3 years. Executives/managers need 12 months' prior employment; specialists are defined by company-specific knowledge. |
| Students | No numerical caps permitted on admission to recognised institutions (Annex 8F(2)). | Standard eligibility still applies. Work rights of at least 20 hrs/week while studying; post-study work of 2 years (bachelor's), 3 (master's or first-class STEM honours), 4 (PhD). |
| Partners & dependent children | Uncapped, tied to the primary visa holder (Annex 8K, Section F). | NZ must allow entry and stay of partners (including de facto and same-sex) and children under 20, when the primary visa exceeds 12 months; their stay matches the primary visa. |
| Working holidays | 1,000 places per year. | Degree-holding 18–30-year-olds; a genuinely new scheme (Korea's equivalent is 3,000). |
| Business visitors, installers, service suppliers | Various short-term categories. | E.g. installers/servicers limited to 90 days in any 12 months. |
"In respect of the commitments on temporary entry in this Annex, neither Party shall: (a) adopt or maintain any limitations on the total number of each category of natural persons of the other Party to be granted temporary entry; or (b) require an economic needs test, including a labour market test … except as provided for in Annex 8J … or Annex 8K."
Nothing in these annexes grants permanent residence — Annex 8L expressly excludes "citizenship, nationality, residence or employment on a permanent basis". Whether temporary pathways feed into residence applications under NZ's own domestic settings is a separate — and contested — question covered in the FAQ.
Investment
Chapter 9 commits New Zealand to promote foreign direct investment into India "with the aim to increase such investment by US Dollars 20 billion within 15 years" (Article 9.2). India will establish a dedicated "investment desk" to help NZ investors. The chapter sets up a three-tier review process (five-, ten- and fifteen-year reviews, with adjustment for "unforeseen circumstances" like pandemics or financial crises, and a possible three-year grace period).
If the target is missed and consultations fail, Article 9.10 lets India — "notwithstanding any other provision under this Agreement" — take proportionate, temporary remedial measures rebalancing the tariff concessions it gave New Zealand. Article 9.11 excludes the whole chapter from the treaty's dispute-settlement mechanism. There is no investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) anywhere in the agreement. How binding and how risky this all is, is hotly debated — see the debate.
Economic cooperation & the horticulture action plans
Chapter 14 establishes an Agriculture Productivity Partnership and working groups across forestry, horticulture, fisheries, wine, traditional knowledge and sport. Its most consequential pieces are the action plans for apples, kiwifruit and mānuka honey: five-year cooperation programmes under which New Zealand assists India's own industries — and to which New Zealand's new tariff-rate quotas are explicitly tied.
"The TRQs and the market access offered are subject to New Zealand's actions to fulfil its obligations under the respective action plans … If no resolution is reached, India may notify New Zealand of its intention to rebalance the concessions offered by it and may suspend the market access … in whole or in part."
The rest of the agreement
- Customs & trade facilitation: goods released within 48 hours; 24 for perishables and express consignments.
- Trade remedies: a bilateral safeguard mechanism if tariff cuts cause serious injury to a domestic industry.
- Intellectual property, environment & labour: chapters affirming existing international commitments — including the Paris Agreement, the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (Article 13.2, "subject to their respective reservations… and their respective positions"), and UN business-and-human-rights principles.
- Māori trade & cooperation: a chapter on indigenous and traditional-knowledge cooperation, with Treaty of Waitangi references.
- Taxation carve-out: "Nothing in this Agreement shall apply to any direct taxation measure" (Article 18.3) — income tax remains governed by domestic law and the 1986 NZ–India double tax agreement.
- Dispute settlement: state-to-state dispute settlement (Chapter 19), from which the investment chapter and overseas-investment screening decisions are excluded.
The enabling bill now before Parliament amends the Dairy Industry Restructuring Act, Overseas Investment Act (raising the screening threshold for Indian investors), Tariff Act and Customs and Excise Act, and creates quota administration systems for apples, kiwifruit and mānuka honey.