Wednesday, 04 September 2024 09:55

India FTA 'still a priority'

Written by  Peter Burke
Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay. Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay.

Agriculture and Overseas Trade Minister Todd McClay says his government is pulling out all the stops to get a trade deal with India.

He told delegates to the recent NZ Institute of Primary Industry Management (NZIPIM) conference that he has personally made three visits to India since National took office late last year.

He was there a few weeks ago where he met his counterpart Piyush Goyal, the Indian Minister of Commerce. McClay says there are challenges when a country the size of NZ with just over five million people tries to deal with a country with a population of 1.4 billion.

"But while there I made the case again that whenever NZ does a trade deal, we are often much smaller than our partner," he says.

"Recent examples of this are the FTAs with the UK and the EU which provide for a high-quality set of rules that gave business on both sides certainty. There are lots of opportunities for NZ in India in the primary and services sectors and there are equally good opportunities for India to do more business in NZ," he says.

McClay says an exciting development has been the decision of India to use NZ wool carpet in its parliament - an example of how trade could further develop. He says, for the last few years, the relationship between India and NZ has been underdone, but the trajectory is changing with the March 2024 visit to India by Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters and a planned trade mission to be led by Prime Minister Luxon later this year.

This move to target India is backed by Sir Lockwood Smith, former politician, who says NZ must get a trade deal with India.

Smith says the Government is right in making India a priority to pursue this. He says such a deal may not be big for agriculture, especially the dairy industry, but over time “we can work with their dairy industry to help them build their own dairy industry as a start to open the door for us”.

While it’s now widely accepted that the days of FTAs such as the one with the UK are probably over, Smith says there are other ways that NZ can improve quality access for its exports. He says NZ has huge influence on trade matters globally and our top trade negotiator, Vangelis Vitalis, is highly regarded internationally.

More like this

Editorial: Elusive India FTA

OPINION: Without doubt, a priority of the Government this year will be to gain traction on the elusive free trade deal with India.

Times have changed

OPINION: Back in the 1960s and '70s, and even into the '80s, successive National government Agriculture Ministers and Trade Ministers were at the top of the cabinet rankings.

Tariff risk

OPINION: Some commentators across the ditch reckon the second Trump administration's anticipated trade protectionism, coupled with China's economic fragility, poses a significant risk for Australia's agricultural export industries.

Will Trump get involved in NZ's dairy dispute?

Canada's blatant manipulation of international trade rules around the export of subsidised dairy products is likely to escalate further with the new Trump administration now in the White House.

Featured

Editorial: Climate dilemma

OPINION: The farming sector, or at least some parts of it, are preparing for a battle with the Government over its latest international climate change target.

Certainty welcomed

There's been very little reaction to the government science reform announcement, with many saying the devil will be in the detail.

Science 'deserves more funding'

A committee which carried out the review into New Zealand's science system says the underinvestment will continue to compromise the country's future.

National

Machinery & Products

New distributor for Aussie equipment

Australian agricultural equipment distributor, Waringa Distribution, has increased its support to South Island farmers and contractors with the appointment of…

» Latest Print Issues Online

Milking It

No buyers

OPINION: Australian dairy is bracing for the retirement of an iconic dairy brand.

RIP Kitkat V

OPINION: Another sign that the plant-based dairy fallacy is unravelling and that nothing beats dairy-based products.

» Connect with Dairy News

» eNewsletter

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter