Wednesday, 14 January 2026 13:55

Editorial: Indian FTA is great news

Written by Peter Burke

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Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay, New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

OPINION: Trade Minister Todd McClay and the trade negotiator in government have presented Kiwis with an amazing gift for 2026 - a long awaited and critical free trade deal with India.

It offers reduced tariffs on meat and wool, horticulture and forestry. It will enable NZ to reclaim a huge amount of the market share for lamb it lost when Australia got its FTA with India two years ago. As well as trade, the FTA brings with it a special political relationship with India like we have with China, the UK, the EU and the Gulf States.

This is a great achievement by McClay, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and the negotiating team led by MFAT's Vangelis Vitalis - arguably one of the greatest NZ trade negotiators of all time.

But no FTA has ever been perfect, and it was no surprise that the dairy industry received minimal gain in the deal. This is because the dairy industry in India comprises 80 million dairy farmers - mostly with very small holdings but with immense political power. Remember also that India has 300 million cows and buffalos and produces about a quarter of the world's milk.

So, the question that is being asked around the traps is why is Winston Peters saying he'll vote against ratifying the FTA when it comes before parliament later in the year?

And why has the main opposition party, Labour, hinted it will vote for the FTA? Does Peters seriously believe he could have got a better deal for dairy, or is it the clause on immigration that is his main concern? Others have said, given more time, a better deal could have been struck. Most experts reject this argument.

Even Dairy Companies Association of NZ (DCANZ) who represent the dairy exporting companies, while expressing disappointed at the FTA, have praised team McClay for their work and politely urged them to address the trade challenges that dairy faces and that could well happen.

Come on you detractors - at least we have a deal!

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