Optimism surges around the New Zealand-India Free Trade Agreement after Labour Party’s timely support, with Shashi Tharoor hailing it as a historic win that transforms trade prospects. The move neutralizes threats from dissenting coalition partners, ensuring the deal’s survival.
Finalized recently following negotiations from March 16, 2025, the FTA is poised to drive substantial growth. Tharoor’s X post dissected Labour’s logic: sustaining deep India ties amid its economic surge, despite dairy setbacks, while advancing other sectors like tech and education.
Prime Minister Luxon’s National Party traded concessions—a review after one year targeting dairy and green standards—to win Labour over. This paves a clear path for legislative progress.
The bill enters parliamentary review, with super-majority passage forecasted for H1 2026, blending National, ACT, and Labour forces. Year-end trade launch beckons.
Tharoor underscored the deal’s game-changing symbolism for India, eliminating export tariffs entirely and securing $20 billion investments over 15 years. It signals India’s aggressive trade diversification, enhancing strategic leverage globally.