New Delhi, April 27 -- The India New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (FTA), signed today, provides 100 per cent duty-free access to Indian goods in the New Zealand market from the date of implementation.
Covering all tariff lines, the pact is expected to boost the competitiveness of labour-intensive sectors including textiles, apparel, leather, footwear, engineering goods, and processed foods. New Zealand had earlier imposed tariffs of up to 10 per cent on many of these products.
India, in turn, has offered tariff liberalisation on about 70 per cent of tariff lines, covering 95 per cent of bilateral trade value, while excluding sensitive sectors such as dairy, certain agricultural products, metals, and defence-related items.
Tariff redu...